- Quality and Safety
Industrial production of food ingredients
Supercritical CO₂ extraction is one of the most innovative and sustainable technologies for obtaining high-purity ingredients and active compounds. This method is ideal for extracting essential oils, antioxidants, natural pigments and extracts rich in other valuable bioactive compounds, as it preserves the functional properties of the ingredients without leaving toxic residues or compromising their quality.
It is also used to remove unwanted substances, such as fat in the production of protein ingredients, caffeine in the production of decaffeinated coffee or tea, odours, pesticides… Using CO₂ in its supercritical state enables selective and efficient extraction, operating at low temperatures that preserve even the most sensitive components. The treated starting material is also preserved, making it possible in many cases to obtain two products in a single process: a valuable extract and a defatted product. In addition, it is an environmentally friendly solution, as CO₂ is reusable and does not generate polluting by-products, making it possible to offer ECO certification for the processed products.
Industrial processing and development of your products
At ALTEX, our industrial supercritical CO₂ technology facility, companies can use their raw materials to:
- Obtain high-value lipid extracts for use as food supplements, flavourings and antioxidants, from plant materials, seeds, berries, nuts, roots, flowers and leaves.
- Obtain protein-rich ingredients and low-fat products. In certain cases, it is possible to reduce the fat content of natural products to approximately 2%, in the case of cereals, or even below 1%, in the case of cocoa.
- Treat ingredients: purification and removal of traces of unwanted substances in the product, removal of unwanted odours, reduction of pesticide content…
- Reduce microbiological contamination: effective in heat-sensitive or oxidisable compounds.
Our solutions
To offer this industrial processing, we have:
- ECO, BIO, GMP and Halal certifications
- 1000 L capacity extractors that enable processing services for different batch sizes
- If required, we can carry out feasibility and preliminary development tests in pilot plants of up to 20 L, including process studies, sample generation and cost estimation
Efficient extraction
Supercritical CO₂ extraction is characterised by its high efficiency and selectivity. It is used to obtain high-value oils, which are used in food supplements, flavourings and as antioxidants. These oils are extracted from a wide variety of plant sources; some examples on the market are:
- Seeds: broccoli, lupin, carrot, pomegranate, sesame, blackcurrant, pepper, cumin, etc.
- Cereals: oats, wheat, etc.
- Berries: saw palmetto, raspberry, sea buckthorn, among others
- Nuts: almond, hazelnut, cashew
- Roots: angelica, ginger
- Flowers and/or leaves: chamomile, oregano, hops
Protein ingredients from press cakes
Oilseeds generally undergo a pressing process to obtain their oils, which are used in food. The by-product of this process is a press cake that still retains around 10% fat and is used as food flour for human and animal consumption. Extracting the residual oil with CO₂ can transform these cakes into an ingredient with hardly any fat, increasing its protein percentage.
These flours are used as protein sources or even in vegan products as meat alternatives.
Flours that benefit, or could benefit, from this method include those derived from sunflower, pumpkin, chia, rapeseed, hemp and nut seeds.
Ingredients with reduced fat content
CO₂ can reduce the fat content of different materials without altering their original structure. It is therefore possible to obtain defatted ingredients in formats such as flakes, laminated products, granules, flours…, ideal for use in healthier food products, such as snacks, sports nutrition products or supplements.
Would you like to know more?
Leave us your details and we will contact you to answer your questions or continue the conversation.
