Supercritical fluid extraction in food processing, often shortened as SSE or SFE, uses supercritical fluids as a substitute for traditional organic solvents to complete the task of extracting mixtures, however many of these fluids are not food-grade which has severely limited the applications of this technology in the food industry, this issue is currently being tackled by incorporating food-grade CO2 in the process, supercritical carbon dioxide can be compressed into a high-density fluid phase and used for extracting soluble components from a variety of natural products used in food manufacturing.

Food-grade CO2 plays a significant role in food processing because of its unique properties, at a standard pressure and temperature superpressure gas is a colorless gas when its temperature and pressure are increased together beyond the critical point CO2 undergoes a physical change and forms a high-density, single, supercritical fluid phase, when this phase is applied to food materials, a higher extraction rate is the result.

In food processing the applications of supercritical CO2, also known as supercritical fluid extraction, are abundant, it is suitable for extracting active ingredients from natural products for use in dietary supplements, food production, and cosmetics, some common materials that can be processed with SSE include tea, citrus peels.

SSE also offers advantages over traditional extraction methods in the food industry such as reduced temperatures long equipment lifespan, it is easy to keep and move as it doesn't boil and vapor رله الکترونیکی down until really low temperatures, the procedure of processing plant materials with reduced temperatures can help preserve the food quality, including the retention of sensitive nutrients, unlike other heating or solvent-based extraction processes.

The conventional uses of SSE as a tool within the food industry include the production of bottled flavored water, extraction of all sorts of additives and food coloring, processing spices and herbs for cosmetic products, and possibly the future creation of new food items. These products can be categorized into three types, dietary supplements and processed foods.