South America is a continent with great possibilities for the food industry due to the quality and variety of its raw materials. High Pressure Processing or HPP technology allows preserving all the properties of these excellent products. In this blog post, we review the implementation of this technology in the region and explain the many advantages it offers to industries as varied as the meat sector, the avocado sector, juices and beverages or ready meals. HPP has enabled these companies to develop products with a longer shelf life and high added value, which have opened the doors to new foreign markets, especially in the United States and Europe.
South America is a region with great potential due to the quality and variety of its raw materials. High Pressure Processing (HPP) technology preserves all the properties of these excellent products. HPP inactivates foodborne microorganisms, ensuring food safety and extending the product’s shelf life while maintaining its nutritional properties and organoleptic characteristics. In addition, it eliminates the need to use additives and preservatives, thus obtaining clean-label and high-added-value products.
High pressure is applied to the product in its final packaging. This is why the packaging is a very important aspect to consider when developing a HPP product and it must have two fundamental premises: it must be flexible and water resistant. This video explains the operation and benefits of the technology in an illustrative way.
Evolution of HPP technology in South America
North America and Europe continue to be the main markets for HPP. However, other regions such as Asia and South America represent significant potential and have been showing positive growth in recent years.
The first HPP machine in South America was installed in 2005 in Chile and, little by little, our technology was extended to other countries such as Peru, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador. This image shows the evolution of the implementation of our technology in different customers and countries over the years.
Another advantage of HPP technology is its versatility, as it applies to a wide variety of products. This opens the door to a diverse range of sectors within the food and beverage industry that have adopted the technology in this region. The meat sector has found HPP its best ally for guaranteeing food safety and extending the shelf life of products with a clean label and represents the most prominent sector in terms of production volumes. The avocado industry, led by guacamole, has experienced the greatest growth during the last few years, continuing the idyllic relationship it has maintained since it began to take its first steps in Mexico. Another important sector is juices and beverages, undoubtedly one of the most widespread applications worldwide thanks to cold press juices, which could not go unnoticed in a region with such quality and variety of fruits. Finally, in 2023, the first machine for ready meals was installed by the Colombian company Ventolini. Precisely, the versatility of the technology allows the existence of companies that have acquired their own machine to offer the HPP service to third parties, also known as HPP tolling. Their representation is also important in the region and they play a very important role in facilitating access to the technology.
In addition to supplying their domestic markets, the shelf life extension achieved thanks to HPP has enabled our customers to reach new markets, especially the USA and Europe, with their high-value-added products. These are commercial opportunities that would be unthinkable without this technology. At the same time, HPP not only adds value to the final product but also allows them to revalue those fruits that, although in perfect condition, are discarded because they do not meet the requirements of size or appearance for commercial sale. Therefore, it makes a positive contribution to the environment with the reduction of food waste.
A success story that perfectly reflects many of the aspects discussed in this blog post is the case of Juancamole. This Colombian company recently installed Hiperbaric HPP equipment for its production process of guacamole and other avocado products, which has allowed it to reach new markets. You can learn more details of this success story in this article of Mundo Expopack (in Spanish) or in the Q&A we conducted with its general manager a few months ago.
Our team of HPP experts is spread all over the world contributing to the dissemination of the multiple advantages HPP brings to the food and beverage industry. Contact us, and one of them will be happy toasssit with any questions or doubts you might have about the application of HPP to your products.
