Industry & Business

Irish food processors gain convenient access to HPP technology resulting in longer shelf life for products.

Food processors in Ireland now have convenient access to High Pressure Processing (HPP) technology with the announcement today (16th October 2014) that HPP Tolling Ltd has opened their first HPP Tolling Station in the National Food Park. (FoodCentral, St. Margarets, County Dublin). HPP Tolling is an innovative company set up by experienced food industry promoter Liam Murphy and George Donohue. The company is supported by Enterprise Ireland, Teagasc and University College Cork.

HPP technology has been used commercially for over ten years now, mainly in America and mainland Europe and is growing at the rate of 20% per annum. HPP is an innovative technology that simply uses high pressure to safely and naturally inactivate harmful bacteria and viruses in food products whilst having minimal impact on the taste, texture or nutritional quality of the food. No heat, chemicals or preservatives are used in the process.

HPP delivers greatly enhanced food safety while also extending the shelf-life of products up to fourfold. The ability to deliver on both these fronts makes the use of the technology a very attractive proposition for processors, retailers and consumers. HPP also makes possible the production of natural, clean-label preservative free, high quality products which are rapidly growing in popularity with the global food consumers. HPP can be used across a wide variety of foods including Meat, Dairy, Seafood, Fruit, Vegetable Juices and Ready to Eat meals.

Making the announcement, Liam Murphy, Director at HPP Tolling, said:

“High Pressure Processing is an innovative Technology that allows food companies manufacture safer, clean-label preservative free products with extended shelf life. HPP Tolling gives all food companies in Ireland access to these benefits which will greatly support the continued growth and development of the Irish Food Industry at home and abroad”.

Mr. Michael Cantwell, Manager Food Division at Enterprise Ireland said:

“HPP Tolling is meeting an urgent and growing need for this technology across the Irish food industry. It is an internationally tried, tested and environmentally safe method of extending shelf life without affecting taste and texture. The barrier to entry for SME’s has to date been the capital cost associated with this technology which is essentially a cold pasteurisation technique. HPP Tolling with Enterprise Ireland’s support will now make this process available to Irish food companies. This will be a major boost for companies that are looking at export markets”.

Professor Alan Kelly of the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences at UCC has been involved with research into the benefits of HPP for food products for 15 years, and said:

“This is a major development for Irish food companies, who can now take advantage of the unique advantages HPP offers for many food categories in terms of delivering safe and stable products of high nutritional and sensory quality. Applications of this technology are currently expanding at an enormous rate globally and so it is very timely that this very important development is happening now in Ireland”.

Mr. Pat Daly Head of Food Industry Development at Teagasc said:

 “High Pressure Processing (HPP) is a highly innovative and very exciting method for enhancing safety and shelf life of a variety of food and beverage products while maintaining nutritional status and quality of the product. This non-thermal process provides state of the art technology to the sector and will be an enormous asset in providing cleaner label products to satisfy consumer and market requirements for healthier, safer and tastier products. The opening of this facility is a significant support for the on-going growth and development of the Irish food and beverage industry and in particular for those accessing export markets. It is also a key asset for the on-going research programme in Ireland and in particular in Teagasc Food Research Centre Ashtown, where we are delighted to have this advanced technology available on our doorstep. We look forward to engaging in many successful collaborations with HPP Tolling and with the industry as we continue to deliver a strong science-based programme to support the growth and development of the sector.”

HPP Tolling will be using the 420 litre capacity system from Hiperbaric, the world leading manufacturer of HPP equipment for the food industry. The plant is located in Ireland’s National Food Park ‘FoodCentral’ St. Margarets, Co. Dublin, beside Dublin airport in close proximity to all major road networks as well as Dublin port.