A new, rapid and easy procedure for the production of cooked cured-meat colour was developed in this study. The production of cured meat pigment using nitrite and ascorbate in acidic conditions was evaluated. The effects of process variables on the nitrosoheme yield, the wavelength of maximum absorbance (? max ), and L * , a * and b * values were evaluated and optimised at three levels using the response surface method (RSM). The synthesized nitrosoheme was encapsulated using supercritical antisolvent (SAS) method and the effects of solution flow rate, CO 2 flow rate, pressure, temperature and ethylcellulose to nitrosoheme ratio on the encapsulation efficiency, particle size, heat stability, colour and nitrosoheme release during digestion were evaluated. The response surface equations indicate that variables exerted a significant effect on all dependent factors. The optimum combinations for the reaction were HCl=1.19%, ascorbate=123 mM and nitrite=200 mM for conversion of 1 mM hemin to nitrosoheme, by which a pigment yield of 100%, which was similar to the predicted value of 99.5%, was obtained. Likewise, the other parameters were not significantly different from predicted values as the ? max , L * , a * and b * values were 558 nm, 47.03, 45.17 and 17.20, respectively. The SAS parameters had mutual effect on measured dependence variables. High encapsulation efficiency and heat stability were characteristics of encapsulated nitrosoheme. Particle size of encapsulated nitrosoheme was under 200 ?m and exposure to oxygen changed colour of it. Key Words itrosoheme; Encapsulation; Supercritical antisolvent; Carcinogenicity; Optimization.
