Technology developed by Food Science Australia (FSA) to improve the way fruit juices and other food products are pasteurised, is being used commercially in a new Melbourne food processing facility opened this morning by Victorian Premier John Brumby.
The Director of FSA’s Innovative Foods Centre (IFC), Dr Kees Versteeg, says the technology further developed by the IFC – called High Pressure Processing (HPP) – uses pressures of about 6000 times the average air pressure at sea level to pasteurise food products.
“The unique benefits of HPP are that it kills microbes such as yeasts, moulds and bacteria, and extends the shelf-life of chilled perishable products without adversely affecting the food’s freshness, flavour, colour, texture and nutritional value,” Dr Versteeg says.
“Normally processors would have to use preservatives or heat the product and this inevitably changes the taste and destroys some nutrients.
“Several years ago we developed prototype juice and other fruit products using HPP and assessed them for quality and shelf-life. We took these out to the industry to see who’d be interested in using the process, Donny Boy Fresh Food Company embraced HPP and we worked with them to develop and commercialise their juice and fruit products.
“It is exciting and rewarding to now see our extensive research and work in products on the supermarket shelves and being used as an ingredient in food service and industrial applications such as fruit for yoghurt.”
Donny Boy Managing Director Andrew Gibb says FSA’s involvement was essential to his company’s start-up.
“Our company began life at Food Science Australia’s Innovative Foods Centre. We undertook all trials and first commercial production of our Preshafruit juices and fruits at FSA,” Mr Gibb says.
Donny Boy also uses HPP to preserve other foods and is the first company in the world to supply HPP fruit to the dairy industry.
The Innovative Foods Centre was established with the support of Science, Technology and Innovation Initiative grants from the Victorian Government. A joint partnership between CSIRO and the Victorian Government, FSA continues to use its expertise in food processing, chemistry, microbiology and sensory science to develop further HPP products with the food industry.
Download image at: Pressure on for healthier juice and fruit products.
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