Food Safety Interventions Information
Click on the links below to access information on interventions available at each stage of the meat production process
| Contents Page | Introduction to Interventions | On Farm | Processing - hide on | Processing - hide off | Chilling | Packaging or Retail |
High Pressure Processing
An Emerging Technology
High pressure processing (HPP) involves submerging the (normally) packaged food in a liquid (usually water) within an enclosed vessel. The pressure is generated either by pumping more liquid into the pressure vessel or by reducing the volume of the pressure chamber.
Download more information on High Pressure Processing 
| INTERVENTION SUMMARY | |
|---|---|
Location |
Packaging or retail packs |
Intervention Type |
Full-thickness treatment of packaged product |
Treatment Time |
0.5 to 5 minutes |
Regulations |
No specific restrictions in EU, US or Australia |
Effectiveness |
Up to 4 logs demonstrated in ham and marinated beef |
Likely Cost |
High capital outlay |
Value for Money |
Currently viable for ready-to-eat products |
Plant or Process Changes |
The equipment required is quite large |
Environmental Impact |
Utilises energy to achieve pressure increase |
Occupational Health and Safety |
Noise production |
Advantages |
Less use of preservatives such as lactates or salt for processed meat products Potential for manufacture of new, minimally processed ready-to-eat meat products Shelf life extension Good consumer acceptance likely as no additives are needed Penetrates full thickness of product, so is ideal for comminuted product |
Disadvantages or Limitations |
Possible meat colour/texture changes on raw meat products Product must be packaged For an abattoir processing 500 head per day a retention time of 2 minutes could mean ~160 primals would need to be undergoing the treatment at any one time. Application probably limited to retail packs of ready-to-eat meats Only specific packaging types may be used that can withstand the HPP treatment (trials in progress at CSIRO Food and Nutritional Sciences) |
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