HPP or high-pressure processing is a non-thermal method of preserving food that uses a combination of water and very high pressure to achieve cold pasteurization, which can be an alternative to traditional heat methods. HPP is a promising technology that offers significant safety and quality advantages for food manufacturers, retailers, and consumers alike. Before we delve into the top ten benefits of HPP, let’s take a closer look at how the technology works and why it’s gaining popularity in the food industry.
1.Food Safety
Improves Food Safety Dramatically.
Having access to a sufficient amount of safe and nutritious food is crucial not only for sustaining life but also for promoting good health. Unfortunately, unsafe food that contains harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites is responsible for around 420,000 deaths every year around the world.
By inactivating illness-causing bacteria like Listeria and Salmonella without high temperatures, HPP enables reliably safe products. With foodborne diseases impacting almost 1 in 10 people annually, this is a major public health benefit.
2. Preservation of nutritional value
Retains More Heat-Sensitive Nutrients.
While all preservation methods aim to extend shelf life, conventional heating techniques like pasteurization unfortunately damage naturally occurring vitamins and antioxidants.
However, one of the biggest advantages of using high pressure processing is its ability to pasteurize and preserve without heat. By relying on cold water and immense pressure instead, this allows foods and beverages like juices to maintain higher levels of vitamins, enzymes and other delicate nutrients destroyed by heating.
3. Non-Thermal (Pressure not Heat)
Preserves Taste and Texture of Raw Foods.
The lack of heat preserves not only the nutritional value of food but its taste and texture as well. Through HPP it is possible to retain the “raw profile” of many products. This has been the case with a trending application in the pet food sector – raw pet food products. Our customer Steve’s Real Food shares the benefits of HPP in the manufacturing pet food.
4. Extended Shelf-Life
While enhancing safety, quality and nutrition marks crucial advantages on their own, HPP wields another time-tested benefit: considerably longer shelf life. High pressure pasteurization enables multiple weeks to months of extended freshness depending on the food in question.
Hummus experiences a radical jump from just 28 days to over 100 days thanks to HPP inactivating spoilage organisms.
For consumers, the bottom line includes access to safer, higher-quality prepared foods with reduced waste from spoilage. For brands, extending shelf life unlocks advantages like broader retail reach, consolidated production runs and improved forecasting. Below, Ithaca hummus shares their experience using Hiperbaric HPP technology.
5. Fresh Guac 6-8 Weeks
Continuing on the topic of shelf life extension, number five on the list is being able to produce a fresh guacamole with a shelf life of 6 to 8 weeks.
We all love fresh homemade guacamole, but one of the biggest challenges has been being able to produce that same fresh tasting guacamole at the retail level that doesn’t contain preservatives.
The benefits of HPP on guacamole are impressive. You can delay browning while maintaining flavor and texture, provide food safety through pathogenic reduction, and gain weeks of shelf life without using heat, acid, or preservatives.
Our customer RV Fresh Foods shares the benefits of HPP for guacamole manufacturers: higher yields, lower production costs, fresher taste and eye appeal, clean labels, and longer ambient distribution.
6. Clean Label (Pressure not presservatives)
Enables Clean Labels without Additives.
One of the most exciting perks of HPP for manufacturers and consumers alike is the ability to create additive-free products thanks to the natural preservative powers of pressure.
Traditionally, foods require the addition of preservatives and stabilizers to prevent spoilage and extend shelf life. Think sodium benzoate in jarred salsa or potassium sorbate in many yogurts.
By using water pressure instead of additives to achieve safety and prolonged quality, manufacturers can return to simpler, cleaner food labels. This “short ingredient list” appeals greatly to modern consumers seeking authenticity and lack of processing.
7. Preserving quality and taste of fruits and veggies
Maintains Exceptional Fruit and Vegetable Flavors.
Consumers want safety and convenience without sacrificing delicious flavors or nutrient density. This holds remarkably true for produce like fresh juices.
Rather than exposing produce, juices and smoothies to heat, HPP provides pasteurization benefits while keeping freshness and flavors remarkably close to raw fruits and vegetables.
For health-focused shoppers examining both quality and nutrition labels, this cold pressure approach represents a win-win. Cleaner ingredients meet fuller, richer nutrition profiles while satisfying sweet teeth and vegetable desires simultaneously.
Evolution Fresh capitalizes on these advantages to produce their premium juice offerings.
8. Aligning fresh with ready to eat convenience
Brings Quality Ready Meals to Broader Audiences.
Seeking fresh, nutritious ingredients with home cooked taste, consumers historically faced a tradeoff between quality and convenience when purchasing ready to eat fare. Pre-made meals either deployed preservatives at the cost of taste and clean labels, or dealt with extremely limited shelf life that restricted access.
But high pressure processing now unlocks extended fridge life for prepared entrees, sides and RTE meals without any flavor, texture or nutritional sacrifices.
MRE uses High pressure processing to delivers premium quality ready to eat meals to the mass retail environment.
9. Crustacean meat extraction (Shucking)
Extracts 100% Raw Meat from Shellfish.
Innovative food manufacturers continuously find new applications to explore with HPP’s flexible capabilities. One compelling case lies in premium seafood categories like oysters, crab and lobster. Using HPP, processors can gently detach raw meat from shells without heat or chemicals.
The enhanced yields and simplified shucking post-HPP reduce physical labor requirements in addition to opening up inventive value-add product possibilities. Our customer Greenhead Lobster details the use of HPP in the seafood manufacturing space.
10. Post-packaging process
Unlike many conventional processing methods, HPP technology treats foods after they are fully packaged and sealed. This means manufacturers can use existing packaging equipment without expensive redesigns.
The post-packaging functionality also means endless product varieties can utilize the same HPP equipment. As long as the package withstands water pressure (flexible pouches or PET bottles often work) and fits in processing baskets, it works with HPP machines. One day a facility can high pressure process tomato sauce, the next oatmeal pouches, then pet food, then guacamole.
This adaptability, ease of adoption and broad applicability to both solid and liquid packaged goods makes HPP extremely versatile. To find out if your product is HPP ready click here to learn more.
Conclusion
With demonstrably positive impacts for food safety, nutrition, taste and ingredient lists, HPP technology beautifully aligns with rising public demand for less processed, healthier fare.
While still gaining in awareness, HPP devices have already been adopted commercially around the world. With broad advantages for quality, sustainability and public health, high pressure processing shows enormous future promise to transform our foods for the better.
