High-pressure processing has potential for food preserva-
tion purposes because it can inactivate microorganisms and
enzymes. In order to implement this new technology in the
food industry, we need to understand the mechanism and
kinetics of pressure-induced degradation/denaturation/
(in)activation of several food compounds (e.g. microorgan-
isms, enzymes, nutrients) and the way in which the degra-
dation/denaturation/(in)activation is in¯uenced by other
parameters (e.g. temperature, pH). This review is concerned
with the factors in¯uencing the eect of high pressure on
enzymes related to food quality. # 1998 Elsevier Science
Ltd. All rights reserved