Bonnie Mulligan
Food safety is an important issue for companies that work with fresh juice. We have had juice bar customers reach out to us with questions about High Pressure Processing so we decided to get an expert opinion to share with you. Our Fresh ‘n Squeeze Juicer line is manufactured in Lakeland, Florida by JBT, another part of the JBT family is JBTAvure. JBTAvure is a leading global maker of HPP machines. JBTAvure’s HPP machines offer the highest output, lowest operating costs, and greatest reliability for food producers and manufacturers. JBTAvure helps producers increase food safety and extend shelf life while providing consumers with nutritious, natural, flavorful food.
We asked JBTAvure’s CMO, Lisa Wessels, a few questions to explore the benefits of HPP.
1. If a juice bar wants to bottle and HPP their juice what is the process?
Juicebars can contact a Toller to bottle and HPP their juice. It can extend their shelf life 4-6 times, thus eliminating waste. In addition there is no need for preservatives as HPP inactivates pathogens. Clean label, food safety, and extended shelf life – a big win for Juice bars!
• Here’s a complete list of JBTAvure’s tolling centers: https://www.avure-hpp-foods.com/tolling-centers/find-a-tolling-center/
2. What is the shelf life of HPP juice?
Fresh juice is typically 2 weeks – whereas HPP juice is 4-6 months depending on type of juice.
3. What is a tolling center?
A tolling center is similar to a contract packager/bottler – where a company can send/outsource their fresh juice to be high pressure processed (HPP) for a fee vs handling in house.
4. Does HPP affect the nutrients or taste of the juice?
No – the taste profile is virtually the same.
5. Can you use HPP for any other items besides juice?
Yes – foods using HPP include ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook meats, ready-meals, fruits and vegetables, juices and smoothies, soups and sauces, wet salads and dips, dairy products, pet food, baby food, seafood and shellfish. HPP helps producers increase food safety and extend shelf-life while providing consumers with nutritious, natural, flavorful food.
6. Can you tell me a little bit more about what Clean Label means?
Clean label means free from preservatives and chemicals. The meaning can indicate all-natural as well.
Let’s look into the details of HPP a littler deeper, what is it and how can it help your business?
HPP: WHAT IS IT?
HPP or High Pressure Processing is a food pasteurization technique recognized by theU.S.’s Food and Drug Administration, FDA, and used worldwide including: NorthAmerica, South America, Europe, Asia and Pacific.
Blaise Pascal first explored High Pressure Processing, HPP, when he began testing HPPon bacteria in the 1890’s. Bert Hite, a scientist at West Virginia University AgriculturalExperimental Station, followed this research. Hite found that HPP could disable harmfulmicroorganisms in foods such as milk, meat, fruits, and vegetables. In the early 1900’s astudy by W. P. Larsen demonstrated that HPP regularly killed vegetative bacteria foundin foods.
First commercial HPP products were: Fruit preserves in Japan in the mid 1990’s,guacamole in the U.S. by Wholly Guacamole in 1997 and cooked ham in Spain in 1999.HPP is cold pasteurization in pure water; it uses ultra-high pressure purified water tokeep packaged food pathogen-free and to stay fresh longer. Food is subjected 87,000 lbs.of pressure per sq. inch, the same amount of pressure as six times the deepest part of theocean. At this very high pressure bacteria such as Listeria, E. coli, and Salmonellaare destroyed. Foods that use HPP include: meats, fruits, vegetables, juices, dairyand seafood.
HPP BENEFITS
• HPP is a “Clean Label”, natural pasteurization technique
• Offers better taste, texture and nutrition
• Delivers shelf-life extension & pathogen elimination.
WHO USES HPP
HPP is currently utilized by a wide variety of products including: Beverages, meat, dairy,seafood, fruits and veggies. Now, more and more SKU’s across every category areincreasingly using HPP. Emerging HPP categories include: refrigerated soups, baby food,pet foods, new functional beverage alternatives and ready meals
HPP GROWTH
• HPP food products market value: $12 billion now and will double within six years
• Growth Drivers:1. More consumers and food companies both want “clean label” and convenience2.
HPP offers better taste, texture and nutrition than traditional high-heat pasteurization
HPP TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENT
• HPP is now more available through HPP service providers, which means start-upcompanies can use HPP technology without the financial investment in an HPP machine
• Recently, HPP machines have nearly doubled in capacity and the increased throughputhelps make HPP more accessible financially
HPP FOOD SAFTEY
• HPP delivers an extended shelf life and pathogen elimination• HPP preserves food products by inhibiting microbial growth
• HPP process inactivates bacteria such as Listeria, E. coli and Salmonella
•HPP products need high water content, be acidic & have a cold chain of distribution
