FDBusiness.com

By Tim Hunter, Avure Technologies Incorporated

Up until about 25 years ago, heat was chosen as the pasteurization standard because it was practical and easy to apply to large volumes of product. But when heat is applied to juices and other beverages, shelf stability and sterilization come at the expense of flavor, nutrition, and texture.

The idea of using high pressure to inactivate spoilage organisms was invented more than 100 years ago. High pressure processing, or HPP, applies even amounts of high pressure (usually around 86,000 psi for 1 to 3 minutes) to all sides of a food product in its final packaging, inactivating harmful bacterial such as listeria, salmonella, and E-coli, as well other spoilage micro-organisms, without harming healthy enzymes or removing vitamins. If applied properly to the product, HPP allows processors to maintain freshness, texture, flavor and healthy nutrients that are vital to good health.

Today, HPP has become more practical, cost-effective and accessible to processors.

HPP systems manufacturers, such as Avure Technologies, work to drive broad acceptance of HPP, and continue to increase volume and make HPP more efficient and affordable for every food and beverage supplier. From early systems that could process only a few liters of product per cycle, to the very latest large-volume Avure QFP 525L-600 system, HPP is more and more attainable for food and beverage processors of all sizes. With the arrival of the Avure 525L-600, juices and other beverages can be processed at a rate of up to 525 liters per cycle, and 10 cycles per hour (translating to more than 4 tons of processing in an hour).

With increasing consumer demand for healthy and delicious foods and beverages, processors are working to keep up with demand, either with their own equipment or that of HPP tolling service providers who pressure pasteurize their products before distribution. Many food and beverage manufacturers use a combination of both.

Along with the high capacity, reliability and low operating costs desirable in HPP equipment options, processors will need food science knowledge, lab services and assistance with HACCP planning, trials and recipe formulations. Avure, the global leader in HPP solutions, provides this breadth of expertise to help processors of all sizes deliver successful HPP products.

A short video presentation on the benefits of HPP to juices and other beverages can be viewed at http://info.avure.com/foodbevbiz.

To learn more about HPP and the 525L-600 from Avure, go to http://info.avure.com/0114FBB525.