Juicing is a hot trend! – The global fruit and vegetable juice market is projected to reach USD 173 billion by 2024, growing at an estimated CAGR of 3.17%. Growth in fruit and vegetable juice market is driven by increasing demand for healthy food from an increasingly health-conscious consumer base. Specifically, cold press juice processing is the fastest growing category and HPP is the most appropriate technology for their preservation.
HPP juice processing can be as simple as these 4 steps below, but massive production requires the right equipment and the right technology to guarantee food safety and traceability all along the process.
Harvesting
Fruits and vegetables are harvested for juice production. Maturity is the most important factor in this stage. It is essential to assure we are harvesting the highest-quality fruit and to minimize food waste. Thus, harvesting occurs at the right time to get the most of the fruits. After harvesting, the fruit is processed quickly to preserve its vitamins and nutritional content.
Washing, selection and calibration
Washing is one of the most important processing steps at the industrial level. Almost all products can be washed under cold running water. Washing is designed to remove dirt, dust and some pesticides, and to detach bugs. It improves not only the safety and quality, but also the product shelf life.
Once they are washed, fruit and vegetables in an optimum state are selected, rejecting those that might alter the quality of the final product.
Fruit calibration is key to get the most yield out of the fruits, especially in citrus, in order to avoid squeezing oil from the peel.
Juice extraction
Citrus are squeezed, not pressed, to avoid extracting the undesirable taste coming from the oil of the citrus peel. On the other hand, all other fruits and vegetables are pressed to get the well-known cold pressed juices.
There is another process to remove stones out of fruits like peaches, plums, etc., where a pulping machine is needed before pressing.
Bottling process
Bottling is the last part of the process, the finish product is ready to be share with the world. Only food grade bottles, which do not require cleaning before filling, provided by the manufacturer/ supplier shall be utilized. A “hands-free” pressure capping device is recommended.
Bottling machines can have up to 120 filling heads and the fastest equipment can handle PET bottles at speeds up to 1.000 units per minute.
Companies like Zumex and Goodnature are well known for industrial equipment manufacturing with a global presence.
Product ready for HPP
High pressure processing (HPP) is currently one of the most in-demand technologies. It extends the shelf life of juices and beverages without increasing the temperature of the product and preserves the organoleptic and nutritional properties of the fresh product.
HPP technology is a cold pasteurization technique by which products, already sealed in its final package, are introduced into a vessel and subjected to high level of isostatic pressure to kill microorganism like Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria, extending the shelf life considerably without adding any preservative to the original product. HPP also preserves the quality of fresh juices, opens opportunities to new markets due to the extension of shelf life and protects brands against recalls. Moreover, juices and beverages is fastest growing product category among the multiple applications of this technology.
HPP In-Bulk technology
The new Hiperbaric Bulk technology is a global innovation that allows the most efficient HPP juice processing. This revolutionary concept for large volumes of liquids, allows to process juices and beverages in bulk, before bottling.
It delivers the largest productivity in the world associated with the lowest processing cost and minimum energy consumption. Moreover, it allows the use of any kind of packaging after HPP, no matter the material, design or size.
HPP juice processing example
This video of Ortoromi, one of our clients, is an illustrative example of the previous steps before applying HPP:
Home-made or industrial juice productions share the same manufacturing principles and processing. The big difference is basically the time when the finish product is consumed. Industrial manufacturers have understood and accepted the challenge: to serve industrial-made juice as fresh as the home-made.
Contact us if you want to know more about HPP juices and beverages and the multiple benefits that this technology can provide to your products
