High Pressure Processing
Fonterra Ingredients’ High Pressure Processing (HPP) innovation team has turned the forceful water pressures normally used as a “blunt” food preservation tool into a high precision instrument for working with dairy products.
Previously, high pressure processing has been used commercially in food processing. Yet while the technique is commonly used to kill pathogens and food spoilage organisms, our HPP team has refined it so the health benefits of fresh and unprocessed foods can now be delivered in ready-to-drink and long-life formats.
Fonterra’s refinements to HPP technology mean we can include heat-sensitive ingredients in microbially stable foods and drinks, such as live probiotic bacteria, yoghurt with pieces of fruit or extend the shelf life of cultured products.
The technology was the result of four years of research and development by our innovation team in Palmerston North, New Zealand, and is expected to lead to increased sales of specialty ingredients that can now be incorporated into functional foods, such as ready-to-drink beverages.
For example, a manufacturer could add immunity and wellness-enhancing ingredients such as probiotics, immunoglobulins and lactoferrin to juices, milk drinks and yoghurts without sacrificing their shelf-life.
