The effect of supercritical carbon dioxide on the physiochemistry, endogenous enzymes, and nutritional composition of fruit and vegetables and its prospects for industrial application: a overview

Abstract

Consumers have an increasing demand for fruit and vegetables with high nutritional value worldwide. However, most fruit and vegetables are vulnerable to quality loss and spoilage during processing, transportation, and storage. Among the recently introduced emerging technologies, supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO₂) has been extensively utilized to treat and maintain fruit and vegetables mainly due to its nontoxicity, safety, and environmentally friendly. SCCO₂ technology generates low processing costs and mild processing conditions (temperature and pressure) that allow for the application of CO₂ at a supercritical state. This review aimed to summarize the current knowledge on the influence of SCCO₂ technology on the quality attributes of fruit and vegetable products, such as physicochemical properties (pH, color, cloud, particle size distribution, texture), sensory quality, and nutritional composition (ascorbic acid, phenolic compounds, anthocyanins, carotenoids, and betalains). In addition, the effects and mechanisms of the SCCO₂ technique on endogenous enzyme inactivation (polyphenol oxidase, peroxidase, and pectin methylesterase) were also elucidated. Finally, the prospects of the SCCO₂ technique for industrial application was discussed from the economic and regulatory aspect.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Economic analysis
• fruit and vegetable
• future challenges
• preservation
• regulation
• supercritical carbon dioxide

Acknowledgements

The HO-FOOD Project (SF-CO/HO-FOOD/4/2021) supported this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Narodowe Centrum Badań i Rozwoju.