Use of compressed fluids for sample preparation: food applications.

This review attempts to provide an updated overview (including works published till June 2006) on the latest applications of compressed fluids as sample preparation techniques for food analysis. After a general review of the principles of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE; also called accelerated solvent extraction, ASE or subcritical water extraction, SWE, when water is employed as extraction solvent), the principal applications of such techniques in the mentioned fields of food and natural products are described, discussing their main advantages and drawbacks.