Prior to the 1990’s, few thought that an equipment emulating a 198,000 ft. sea immersion or 6 times the depth of the Mariana Trench, would disrupt the seafood industry – until High Pressure Processing (HPP) was introduced. On Tuesday, May 26th, Vinicio Serment-Moreno, Applications & Food Processing Specialist, Hiperbaric, Eva Mª Alonso, General Manager, ACCUA HPP and Robert Verge, Managing Director, Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation (CCFI), participated in a webinar, sharing the benefits of HPP for seafood products.
HPP benefits for seafood products
“Under the Sea” is not only a popular song from Disney’s animated film, The Little Mermaid. It also is connected to High Pressure Processing (HPP), which uses cold high pressure – six times the depth of the deepest part of the ocean – to inactivate harmful bacteria that affects seafood and other food products.
HPP is a non-thermal technology that eliminates common seafood pathogens like Vibrio spp. or Listeria spp., among others, and slows down spoilage microorganism growth. The use of cold water to generate pressure minimally alters the sensory and nutritional properties of seafood.
HPP is also used to easily remove meat extraction.
It is used to shuck oysters, lobster, crab, mussels, clams, and scallops and can produce up to 125% more yield. The high pressure denatures proteins from the muscles responsible for closing shells so they automatically open, allowing easy meat extraction and more yield.
With no need for heat, HPP enables the meat to retain its natural flavors, giving customers a “fresh off-the boat” product without preservatives and additives. The technology has had great success with most types of fish and seafood applications, including fresh pre-cooked crabmeat, desalted cod, marinated tuna, ready-to-eat seafood meals, oyster and lobster meat extraction, and more.
Seafood manufacturers leveraging High Pressure Processing
HPP aids seafood manufacturers to find the adequate balance between safety, quality, and regulatory compliance.
There are several companies that have adopted HPP for seafood processing in the United States, Canada and worldwide. The first one to install was Ocean Choice International in 2002 to extract lobster meat. Since then, many manufacturers, such as Seafarers Inc. and Greenhead Lobster, have followed by leveraging the our HPP technology for their seafood products.
The ability of HPP to eliminate foodborne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms help food companies to eliminate or notable reduce the use of chemical preservatives for the production of “minimally processed”, “clean label” foods, which alongside premium quality makes the perfect match to consumer demands.
The superior quality of HPP foods is not only noted by consumers, but also by experts in the field. The Global and North America Seafood Expo have recognized HPP foods under multiple categories of the prestigious “Seafood Excellence Awards” in the latest editions (2016, 2017, 2019).
Webinar: Exploring Safety, Freshness, and Market Opportunities for Seafood Products with High Pressure Processing (HPP)
On Tuesday, May 26th, 2020, Hiperbaric hosted a webinar on the benefits of high pressure processing (HPP) for seafood products. Topics discussed included:
- High Pressure Processing’s (HPP) impact on seafood products
- Effect HPP has on pathogens in seafood products and shelf-life extension
- HPP being used for crustacean meat extraction and mollusk shucking
- Emerging HPP seafood applications
Speakers included Vinicio Serment-Moreno, Applications & Food Processing Specialist, Hiperbaric, Robert Verge, Managing Director, Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation (CCFI) and Eva Alonso, General Manager, ACCUA HPP (Bacalaos Alkorta).
If you’d like to receive the recording of the webinar or need more information regarding HPP technology, do not hesitate to contact us, we will be more than glad to assist you.