FDBusiness.com

By Liam Murphy of HPP Tolling

HPP Tolling was established in 2012 by Liam Murphy and George Donohue who after some in-depth market research and advice from our partners/advisors which include Hiperbaric, Enterprise Ireland, University College Cork, Teagasc and AFBI opened for business in FoodCentral, St. Margarets, Co. Dublin in November 2013 after receiving approval to do so from DAFM, and after securing the required investment from Enterprise Ireland under their High Potential Start UP programme and AIB our Bank.

Since our opening we have continued to develop our partnerships with our advisors and we have grown our customer base month on month and established a process that was firstly accredited by IOFGA for our Organic customers and then followed with BRC Approval  which has simplified  business transactions both for our customers and ourselves. Since 2012 we have built up a wealth of knowledge and expertise in this cutting edge  technology.

As we offer the service of HPP to all food and beverage producers; an expensive technology that the majority of producers could not justify the significant capital investment required for their own in-house use only, our service offers the best of both worlds as we offer access to the technology and expertise without the need for any capital investment. We place a lot on value on our independence as well as our ability to ensure complete confidentiality to both our current and future  customers.

HPP products are now making a real impact on the Irish market and ensuring that Irish producers are not left lagging behind our European colleagues. The availability of the technology has also opened  up export markets for our customers which they could not previously take advantage of, as HPP gives our customers the additional shelf life and food safety they require in order to take advantage of the export markets. 2016 is going to be a very busy year for HPP Tolling as projects that have  been in development over the past 12-18 months are brought to market. HPP Tolling in conjunction with our manufacturing partners can also  source/produce any HPP product and have it delivered anywhere in Europe .

What is HPP?

HPP stands for High Pressure Processing, by using cold water and extreme pressure, we are able to kill all the harmful bacteria, yeasts, moulds and viruses in our foods. The process briefly consists of placing finished packed product that has been prepared by our customers into cylindrical baskets (or canisters) which are then automatically moved into the high pressure chamber. Next low pressure water is added to the chamber to evacuate all the air from the chamber, once the air has been removed the chamber is then filled  with a combination of  the product been treated and water. The volume of the pressure chamber is 420 litres. The chamber is then pressurised up to a level of 87,000psi by pumping an additional 50-60Litres of water into the already full vessel, so in affect we force 470-480 litres into a chamber with a volume of 420 litres, to achieve this everything in the chamber has to compress by up to 15% this is how the pressure is applied. That been the case it follows that the packaging on the food must also be able to compress and then bounce back to its original form after the pressure has been released. Glass and metal packaging are obviously not suitable because of their inability to be flexible but Plastic Bottles, Vac-packs, Pouches, Sachets, Skin-Packs are all suitable packaging types so there’s no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to packaging.

The level of pressure and hold time (treatment time) will differ for different products; pressure usually varies from 50,000psi to 87,000psi with hold times usually varying from one to three minutes. This variation in time and pressure is established with the use of straightforward lab tests that confirm our clients requirements are been achieved.

Why Use HPP?

HPP Technology was recently named by European Food Experts as the most important food technology both now and over the next 10 years.

The process works on a cellular level, destroying the cell walls of harmful bacteria, yeasts, moulds and viruses while maintaining the foods original flavour .colour and nutritional profile , This is achieved because the macular structure of the food is uniform, while the macular structure of Bacteria and viruses are not, this difference in physical form singles the bacteria and viruses out for destruction, while not affecting the food.

Food still maintains all its original flavour ,nutrients and consistency and  by using HPP the addition of preservatives and flavouring can be eliminated resulting in clean label, high quality products which meet the ever increasing demands of today’s consumers  for safe, natural and nutrient dense food . In addition the process has the additional benefit of significantly extending the shelf life of the product treated which opens up the possibility of new export markets for the food producers and also dramatically reducing food  wastage of short shelf life products .

HPP can also be used as an alternative to heat pasteurising delivering a significantly improved product as all the nutrients and vitamins are unaffected by the HPP process. HPP will also significantly increase the  shelf life of  products when compared to heat pasteurising. With HPP treated orange juices  a shelf life of 90 days can be obtained while the juice itself still maintains all the nutritional values including taste of freshly squeezed juice. As HPP kills  all yeast in the products the problems associated with product fermentation are completely eliminated, something that heat pasteurisation cannot always deliver.

Food Types Suitable For HPP Treatment 

Any food with an approximately 85% water content or above  can be treated with HPP, these would include:

• Beverages –fruit and vegetable juice ,smoothies ,flavoured waters ,cold brew tea and  coffee ,coconut water and functional drinks .
• Dairy products such as cheese, yogurts and milk .
• Fish and crustaceans.
• All meats both cooked and raw.
• Ready meals.
• Soups, salsas, hummus, and sauces.
• Wet salads and Sandwich Fillings .
• Baby and Infant Food

Conclusion

In conclusion we here at HPP Tolling welcome all enquiries and further information can be obtained from our web site at www.hpptolling.com. HPP is our business; it’s what we do, so please feel free to speak to us and to use our facility and expertise.