ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the role of the high-pressure carbon dioxide (HPCD) technique in various food applications for microbial inactivation, enzyme inactivation, extraction of bioactives, and other functions along with its regulatory concerns. HPCD is an effective non-thermal processing technique for inactivating deleterious enzymes in liquid as well as solid foods. Enzyme inhibition is governed by several factors such as time of exposure, pressure level, temperature, pH of food matrix, the food ingredients, HPCD processing system and processing cycle. In comparison with HPCD treatment, HHP is ineffective against detrimental enzymes since the applied pressure in HPP is uniformly distributed. However, in HPCD treatment targeted action leads to change in structure of these enzymes through one or the other mode of action such as denaturation, aggregation, acid-induced coagulation, homogenization and particle porosity development. HPCD has been successfully applied to various beverages, with the studies reporting different affects due to variation in temperature and pressure of treatment.
