Citrus quality, processing effects

Processing effects. Citrus oil quality may be affected by certain processing parameters. Some which have been studied include effects of yield from the fruit, the amount of water used during recovery and extraction, storage of fruit prior to processing, blending of fruit varieties, and handling the emulsion or finished oils (12). 

As citrus fruits and their products contribute substantially to the American diet and are consumed in great abundance, we believe the time is appropriate to review in detail some important nutritional and quality properties of this important fruit. Twenty-eight scientists joined with us to cover extensively subjects in the following areas nutrition and health quality as related to specific biochemical components effects of handling and processing quality control and evaluation regulatory implication and adulteration. 

There are three general methods of extraction distillation, expression (largely employed for the extraction of essential oils from citrus fruits), and solvent extraction. The selected process depends on the nature of the raw material more than on the nature of the essential oil. An exception would be supercritical extraction with liquid carbon dioxide, which is an ideal method of extraction but, tmfor-tunately, extremely expensive and thus can only be used in very special circumstances. The process chosen for extraction can have a profound effect on the quality of the oil produced. 

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