Meat production is on the rise globally. According to the Worldwatch Institute, meat production has tripled over the last four decades globally and increased 20% in just the last ten years. To help meet the greater demand for meat products, JBT Avure has recently acquired a new High Pressure Processing (HPP) meat technology that will benefit meat processors, retailers, and consumers worldwide.
JBT Avure’s new HPP technology for fresh ground meat retains the natural appearance and texture during the high-pressure process. JBT Avure’s VP of Food Science and Microbiology, Dr. Errol Raghubeer, said: “The benefits of this new technology are that meat companies, retailers, and consumers can take better advantage of the food safety benefits that HPP provides as a result of the more natural appearance and a doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling of shelf life.
“In addition, given HPP’s proven track record of inactivating pathogens and spoilage bacteria, fresh ground meat producers using this technology will be able to have a viable lethality step (FSIS Directive 6120.2) for fresh ground meat.”
“HPP provides a more natural appearance and a doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling of shelf life,” Dr Errol Raghubeer, JBT Avure
Currently, this new technology is pending USDA approval in the United States. However, international opportunities exist prior to USDA approval, with favorable precedents already set in several countries. Fresh ground beef is the first application for this technology, which is slated to expand in the future to whole muscle beef, as well as to poultry and pork.
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Meat companies were one of the first food categories to utilize HPP and reap its benefits of clean label, food safety, and shelf life extension. Once accepted by the regulatory authorities, this technology will be a win for all stakeholders. Meat processors who are worried about recalls due to Salmonella, E. coli, or Listeria can use HPP on ground beef and know that the food is safe. Retailers will also benefit from food safety and longer shelf life, which also lessens food waste.
Consumers will be able to keep ground beef in their refrigerator for much longer and potentially will not need to freeze it. When they are ready to use it, they can prepare and cook the ground beef to rarer temperatures with minimal risk of getting sick or cross-contaminating other food.
JBT Avure’s President, Ryan Pereira, said: “With JBT Avure’s new HPP technology, in addition to reaping the benefits of natural appearance and significant shelf life extension, meat companies can now mitigate threats to their brand via food safety recalls because HPP effectively reduces the chance of such recalls, which have been occurring more and more frequently. Processors will no longer have to rely on the consumer to apply the final step to eliminate potential pathogens by cooking the meat.”
This article was originally published in JBT Avure’s Bon Appetit Newsletter