- HPP Innovation Week 2021 brought together more than 80 speakers from 17 nationalities to discuss the latest High Pressure Processing (HPP) trends and innovations for food and beverage safety and quality.
- 2,000 attendees from 60 countries participated in the online conference organized by Hiperbaric, the global leader in manufacturing high pressure processing equipment.
- HPP Innovations Week discusses the principles of HPP technology, sustainable packaging, emerging food applications, innovative technology, consumer trends and much more.
Miami, June 24, 2021.
More than 2,000 food and beverage professionals participated in HPP Innovation Week 2021, an online conference on High Pressure Processing (HPP). The 5-day event was organized by Hiperbaric, the global leader in manufacturing high pressure processing equipment.
HPP Innovation Week brought together more than 80 speakers from 17 nationalities to discuss the latest High Pressure Processing (HPP) trends and innovations for food and beverage safety and quality. The online meeting served to highlight the prominent role of HPP as the most effective non-thermal technology for the treatment and preservation of food and beverage products.
The virtual conference brought together manufacturers, retailers, food service companies, regulatory, academic leaders, and others in the HPP industry to discuss the latest trends and updates in the industry.
The food and beverage industry has experienced in recent years, and even more so during the global COVID-19 pandemic, a notable change in consumer demand for fresh, healthy and natural products, and prepared without harmful additives, used historically for its conservation. High pressure processing enables producers and retailers to meet consumer demand, extend the shelf life of their products, inactivate pathogenic bacteria responsible for spoilage, and reduce food waste.
HPP Emerging Applications: “Ready-to-Eat” (RTE) Meals and Plant-Based Products
During the event, ready-to-eat (RTE) meals and plant-based products are growing rapidly due to consumer demand for foods with a clean label and a longer shelf life. Chris Kirby, Founder of Ithaca Hummus, states during the HPP for Fresh, Clean Label Hummus session, that
“Ithaca Hummus separates itself from the competition by using fresh ingredients, such as cold-pressed lemon juice, fresh garlic, in conjunction with using HPP, a cold preservation method which allows the fresh ingredients to never be heated and maintains its fresh, home-made characteristics.”
During the HPP Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Meals for Food Service and Retail, Dane Sandridge, Chief Commercial Officer of Sandridge, a manufacturer of RTE meals, stated, “HPP allowed us to eliminate acidifiers and preservatives and shorten the overall length of the ingredient statement in our wet salads. In addition, we were able to extend the shelf life on items that primarily needed those acidifiers and preservatives.
“HPP gave us another extension of our food safety piece and gave us the ability to really go back and challenge our chefs to produce recipes that were colorful, bright, lively and that we can do without having an acidifier or preservative”
“HPP also expanded our geographical region of sales. Primarily before 2008, we had 13 to 15 semi-trucks in our own fleet. Today, we have over 35 and we’re shipping to all 50 states, including Puerto Rico. This was all done possible without adding any preservatives to the products.”
For Andrés Hernando, CEO of Hiperbaric, “the world of food is changing. We are experiencing an authentic revolution that affects us all and HPP is the answer to new trends in this sector”. Today’s consumers demand minimally processed foods and beverages with very specific characteristics: that they are fresh and natural, without additives or preservatives, with a high nutritional value, ready for consumption, with a long shelf life and 100% safe. High pressure processing technology or HPP provides just these benefits to products and therefore to consumers.
Roberto Peregrina, Hiperbaic USA Director at Hiperbaric, stated “As the global leaders in High Pressure Processing technology, we’re excited to have provided a forum for education, networking, and collaboration while demonstrating how HPP can make a meaningful impact on food and beverage safety and quality during HPP Innovation Week. The event shed light on the latest innovations taking place in the industry.”
Sustainable Packaging
Packaging plays a key role for an HPP product to be successful, and this has been shown with different live demonstrations, tests, and product validations during the event. The latest innovation in sustainable HPP packaging is the Petainer Keg, the world’s first HPP keg for juices & beverages. his keg is revolutionizing how HPP beverages are packaged and is a breakthrough global innovation that offers beverage manufacturers safe, sustainable, and cost-efficient packaging.
The HPP Innovation Week program has also addressed other topics including ‘Discovering high pressures (HPP)’; ‘HPP equipment and systems’; ’Marketing; Regulation and validation and the global HPP market have deepened on these matters.
With regard to emerging applications, the inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms provided by HPP also allows other applications and the development of organic cosmetic products free of additives. It also makes it possible to further increase the safety of already sterile pharmaceutical products, thanks to microbiological inactivation, and to produce modified proteins with medical or pharmaceutical interest.
HPP Innovation Week sessions are free and available on demand at www.hiperbaric.com
