The Cold Pressure Council has high hopes for its new HPP Consumer Seal. The group envisions consumers seeing the seal and feeling the same halo feelings they get when they see Organic or GMO-free seals.

“Over time we hope consumers will recognize the Seal and ultimately we want the consumer to associate it with meaning there shouldn’t be preservatives or chemicals in the product, and it has a long shelf life,” says Jeff Williams is the Chairman of the Cold Pressure Council, the trade organization launching the new High Pressure Processing seal.

In order to display the seal, companies must be a member of the CPP, and have a third party that audits its HPP process.

HPP can extend a product’s shelf life by four to six times, all without any chemicals. But HPP only works on products with some water activity, so it’s ideal for juices, salsas, salad dressings, and dips.

The process starts when a food or beverage already is in its final packaging. It’s then placed into a vessels, and moved through the frame and sealed on both ends. At that point water is pumped into the vessels, and pressurized up to 87,000 PSI, which is six times more pressure than the deepest part of the ocean, explains Lisa Wessels, JBT/Avure chief marketing officer.

The food or beverage is then held under that pressure for a certain amount of time, depending on the application. So for example, juices would usually be about two minutes. Then the water drains out and the basket comes out of the machine. At that point the food has been pasteurized without heat, so any pathogens have been deactivated, but without harming the vitamins and nutrients, Wessels says.

“Fresh squeeze juice would last 2 weeks without it, and 6 months with it,” Wessels says.

Williams says some companies don’t do the process correctly — for example they don’t let the product be held under pressure long enough, or at the right temperature — which is why the CCP is requiring companies to go through an audit process to use the new seal.

The seal is just the latest effort by the Council to expand HPP. The industry group was founded a little over a year ago, and includes equipment makers and process. They also are planning to host an annual conference in late June in Chicago that will feature panels and speakers on an array of topics.

For more information: http://coldpressurecouncil.org/