According to the Worldwatch Institute, meat production has tripled over the last four decades globally and increased 20 percent 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.
JBT Avure's new HPP technology for fresh ground meat retains the natural appearance and texture during the high-pressure process. According to JBT Avure's VP of Food Science and Microbiology, Dr. Errol Raghubeer, "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 the two to four times increase in shelf life. In addtion, with the proven track record of inactivating pathogens and spoilage bacteria useing HPP, fresh ground meat producers using this technology will be able to have a vialble lethality step (FSIS Directive 612.2) for fresh ground meat."
Currently this new technology is pending USDA approval in the U.S. Internationl opportunities exist prior to USDA approval with favorable precedants already set in several countries, the company says.
Fresh ground beef is the first application for this technology which is slated to expand to whole muscle beef, as well as poultry and pork in the future.
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, according to JBT Avure. Meat processors 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 given less food waste. Consumers will be able to keep ground beef in their refrigerator for much longer and potentially not need to freeze it. When ready, 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 Chief Marketing Officer, Lisa Wessels, says, “With JBT Avure's new HPP technology, in addition to 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 food safety recalls, which we are seeing more and more frequently. Processors will not have to rely on the consumer any longer to apply the final step to eliminate potential pathogens by cooking it.”
In an inteview with ProFood World, Wessels said the new technology will "destroy all the pathogens in that ground beef, so then you'll be able to cook ground beef and not worry about getting sick." In some cases, she adds, with the shelf-life extension properties of HPP, consumers may not have to freeze ground beef anymore.
