Supercritical fluid chromatography in food analysis

•Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) offers advantageous possibilities in food analysis.•Traditionally applications have been related to the analysis of lipid compounds.•The hyphenation SFC-MS has broadened the range of application.•Preparative SFC is recognized to have exclusive capabilities in the isolation of food components.

In the last years, supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) has increased its acceptance between scientists. The unique selectivity, short analysis times, low consumption of organic solvents as well as the improvements in instrumentation have contributed to expand its use. These characteristics make SFC a powerful tool when food analysis requires individualized evaluation of several compounds in very complex samples. In this work, the advantages and main applications of SFC in food analysis are reviewed, focusing special attention onto analytical and preparative separations.