The HPP equipment market, projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.26 percent, will reach $500.3 million by 2022, according to Research and Markets.
HPP Validation Center
Cornell University opened the HPP Validation Center at its Geneva, N.Y., campus on Feb. 1, 2017.
According to Randy Worobo, PhD, a professor of food microbiology in Cornell’s Department of Food Science, three types of customized services are offered at the 1,500-square-foot Center: HPP safety validation studies, microbiological shelf-life studies, and physicochemical evaluations. The Center features a 55-liter commercial Hiperbaric HPP unit.
“We do the full range of validation studies for bacterial pathogens and protozoan parasites,” Dr. Worobo relates, noting that, since the Center is designated biosafety level 2, Clostridium botulinum is not tested there. “Our pathogen validation studies are conducted with 5-strain cocktails using isolates that are from similar sources. We can perform HPP pathogen validations and shelf life determinations for a variety of foods that include juices, meats, purees, wet salads, etc. Due to the HPP unit being part of a biosafety level 2 laboratory, no processing for commercial sale is permitted.”
There are two prerequisites for HPP treatment at the Center, Dr. Worobo mentions. “Foods must be packaged in flexible containers that allow the transmission of pressure and can withstand the high pressures without rupturing or leaking,” he says. “And foods should contain minimal amounts of air or dissolved gasses.”
In just over a year, more than 100 pathogen validation studies have been performed at the Center for a whole gambit of products, Dr. Worobo reports. “Many of these products are already commercialized and being sold in the marketplace across the U.S.,” he notes.
Cold Pressure Council
In March 2017, the Cold Pressure Council (CPC) was launched with a mission to lead, facilitate, and promote industry standardization, user education, and consumer awareness of HPP, according to Joyce Longfield, MS, vice president of product innovation for Good Foods Group, LLC, Pleasant Prairie, Wis., and CPC chair.
Managed by PPMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, Reston, Va., the CPC was formed by nine founding member companies that contributed time, talent, and financial resources to establish the Council on a firm footing, Longfield says.
“Currently boasting more than 20 members, the CPC includes companies that have and use HPP equipment, such as machinery manufacturers and processors; suppliers of materials associated with HPP, including packaging; and regulatory and academic professionals,” she relates. “Our long-term goal is to be a global organization.” Good Foods and Universal Pure are two of the founding members.
The CPC has developed a High Pressure Certified logo that members can use after their HPP process, HACCP plan, and validation studies are verified by a third-party audit, and after paying the CPC licensing fee of $250 per stock keeping unit per year. Brands that recently started using the logo include Good Foods, Evolution Fresh, and Suja Juice, Longfield notes.
The logo program reflects the goal of the Council, which has always been two-fold, Longfield says. “First, we want to create uniformity among the HPP industry through consistent use of the technology that meets regulatory requirements,” she points out. “To do so, we provide guidance on using HPP as either a CCP or for shelf life extension. This led to creating the logo program for companies that wanted to demonstrate support for consistent validation for use of the technology. The logo program also provides organizations support in bringing awareness to the consumer.”
Second, the Council strives to grow consumer awareness of the benefits of HPP food, and ultimately consumer demand for these food and beverages, Longfield continues. “The website for the logo, expected to be up and running by the end of the summer of 2018, will be separate from that of the Council and will have the look and feel similar to that for non-GMO products, where the information provided is to educate the consumer on HPP benefits,” she says. “The logo website content will not be overly scientific, but rather will be information that’s easier to digest. It will not be a platform to sell either the technology or CPC member companies offering the services for the technology. All of this information would be found on the Council website.”
Tips for Successful HPP Packaging
Mark Fleck, an HPP consultant for Universal Pure, offers the following guidelines to maximize success with HPP technology:
- The package must be hermetically sealed (air tight);
- Many existing package types are compatible with HPP—vacuum packages are ideal;
- Headspace is okay but may increase HPP costs due to basket fill efficiency and slightly increasing cycle times;
- At least one surface must be flexible to accommodate the temporary volumetric change of up to 15% plus any headspace; and
- Check to see if adding barrier properties can better take advantage of the increased shelf life HPP delivers—often decreasing the oxygen transmission rate and moisture vapor transmission rate film specifications can maintain optimal product quality over the extended refrigerated shelf life.—L.L.L.
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