As planned, Germany's largest centre for high pressure processing of foodstuffs has started operations. The approx. 630 m2 facility is located in the Business and Innovation Park Quakenbrück (BIQ) in the direct vicinity of the DIL German Institute for Food Technology with which thyssenkrupp closely cooperates in the sphere of research and development. Christian Myland, CEO of Uhde High Pressure Technologies: "Hygiene and safety in the food industry are of more relevance than ever before, and by providing the HPP technology we support the continued trend for minimally processed high quality foods. Together with the DIL we put our clients in a position to develop products, conduct long-term studies and do much more at the highest level.“
Quakenbrück is one of the most important research and technology centres of the German food industry. Because of this, the new HPP centre is an ideal place for merging fundamental and applied research with industrial implementation. Numerous food manufacturers are in the close vicinity, ensuring short distances for regional clients. Thanks to the uninterrupted cooling chain, products from all over Germany are already being processed at the HPP centre. "As the HPP centre is close to the DIL, we now have ideal conditions for development work under realistic conditions and fast transfer to production processes. This is unique in Germany and offers the DIL and its research partners here in Quakenbrück unparalleled opportunities", says the Dr Volker Heinz, director of the DIL institute. Apart from processing up to 26 tonnes of food per day, clients and interested parties can also have tests conducted in the HPP centre. Thus, it is easy to find out which products are suitable for high-pressure pasteurisation and how they can still be further improved. This concerns, for instance, packaging and the formulations used. Apart from Germany, the catchment area of the HPP centre includes the Benelux countries as well as Germany’s Northern or Eastern neighbours.
Treatment at 6000 bar is gentle and free of chemicals The thyssenkrupp high-pressure pasteurisation (also called High Pressure Processing or HPP) ensures a gentle preservation of foods – without the need for heat or chemical additives. Under high pressures of up to 6,000 bar such harmful organisms as pathogens, fungi and yeasts are deactivated. This significantly slows down the process of food decay and partly even prevents it. At the same time, valuable ingredients are preserved. This results in high quality food, which also preserves its taste, freshness and texture. The new HPP centre allows processing of a large variety of foodstuffs, such as juices, purees, dairy products, meat, seafood and many more.
