Vacuum steam distillation (VSD) reduced VOC content by 67.6%.
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Supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) reduced VOC content by 81.3%.
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Through SC-CO2, 3 VOCs that provide the characteristic odour of liver were eliminated.
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SC-CO2 was an effective technique at reducing the fat content (24.9%).
Abstract
Pork liver has excellent nutritional properties but is a highly perishable product often rejected by consumers due to its strong unpleasant flavour. The objective of this study was to analyze the feasibility of the deodorization and defatting of dried pork liver by means of supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) and conventional vacuum steam distillation (VSD).
The results showed that both deodorization techniques were effective at reducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Through VSD, the VOC content was reduced by 67.6% UA, while an 81.3% UA reduction was achieved by SC-CO2, with respect to dried pork liver. In addition, 3 characteristic compounds of raw pork liver were completely eliminated by applying SC-CO2, which could potentially reduce the characteristic mushroom (1-octen-3-ol), fatty and green (1-nonanol), and fishy ((E,E)− 2,4-heptadienal) off-flavours. Therefore, SC-CO2 could be considered a promising technique for the elimination of VOCs, and furthermore it leads to a reduction in the fat content (24.9%).