Additional food safety assurance and extended shelf-life
High
pressure processing (HPP) can successfully kill many types of bacteria that can cause food poisoning,
including Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes and E. coli O157. The technology can
be used to give additional microbiological safety assurance to meats already treated with another preservation
method without further adversely affecting eating quality. The foods are not sterile and must be refrigerated
to ensure optimum quality. High pressure processing (HPP) is being used commercially in the USA and
Europe to treat cooked poultry, cooked beef, vacuum packaged ham, fermented sausage and salami. In some
cases the use of HPP can reduce the amount of salt and other preservatives without affecting the shelf-life
of the products.
Opportunities for convenience meals
A
range of HPP-treated Spanish tapas are available within Europe while in the USA, Mexican “meal kits”
are available, consisting of cooked beef or chicken, onions, peppers, guacamole and salsa all of which
have been treated by HPP to ensure microbial safety and with a refrigerated shelf-life of 35 days. Limited
studies on other types of ready-to-eat foods, such as prepared meals, have also shown promise.
Selected
references Patterson, M.F. (2005) Microbiology of pressure
treated foods. Journal of Applied Microbiology 98, (4) 541-548.
Marcos, B.,
Aymerich, T.and Garriga, M. (2005) Evaluation of high pressure processing as an additional
hurdle to control Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica in low-acid fermented
sausages. Food Microbiology and Safety. 70, 339-344
Hayman, M.M., Baxter, I.,
O’Riordan, P. J., and Stewart, C.M. (2004) Effects of high-pressure processing on the
safety, quality, and shelf-life of ready-to-eat meats.Journal of Food Protection 67,
1709-1718.
