Innovative Ration Preservation via Supercritical Carbon Dioxide
Abstract
This report describes a 4-year effort, ended June 2010, to study the effectiveness of supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO2) processing in destroying unwanted enzymes and microbes before spoilage, browning, or other damage to the food can occur. SCCO2 is a non-thermal, generally regarded as safe (GRAS) treatment and a novel alternative to traditional thermal processing, which can cause product quality degradation. The CO2 is pumped into a holding tank where the pressure and temperature has been manipulated to bring it to a SCCO2 state (above 1071 psi and 31.1C), at which point it is introduced to the food item. The results of this research, conducted by the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC), Combat Feeding Directorate (CFD), show that SCCO2 inactivates enzymes and microbes without subjecting foods to damaging side effects. Enzymatic assays, spectrophotometry, microbial assays, fluorescence, and sensory analysis were performed throughout the study. The report includes a discussion of the direction of future research related to SCCO2 processing.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA565238
Entities
People
- Claire Lee
- Nicole F. Farhadi
- Patrick Marek
- Paul Maguire
Organizations
- United States Army Soldier Systems Center