Dairy processing using supercritical carbon dioxide technology: Theoretical fundamentals, quality and safety aspects

Non-thermal food processing is configured as an interesting alternative for the food industry due to the increased nutrient retention and minimal sensory changes in processed products. The aim of this review is to address the potential of supercritical carbon dioxide technology, emphasizing milk and dairy processing, including the historical aspects, main advantages, microbial inactivation mechanisms, as well as effects in some quality parameters of dairy products. The use of supercritical carbon dioxide technology (SC-CO2) presents great potential application in dairy processing, since it is effective to reduce microbial load when compared to the pasteurization process, thus obtaining a product with greater shelf life and better organoleptic properties with minimal and sometimes positive changes in the intrinsic quality parameters. •Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Technology is presented as nonthermal food processing.•Fundamentals and advantages and microbial inactivation mechanism are reported.•Previous studies covering the effects at the intrinsic quality parameters of dairy foods are also revised.