ABSTRACT
The Food Processing industry has been using various methods of preservation such as dehydration, fermentation, concentration/evaporation, freezing/refrigeration, thermal processing, or canning for many, many years. High-pressure technology is a novel food-processing technology whereby foods are subjected to high isostatic pressure (HIP), generally in the range of 100 to 600 MPa. In 1985, a consortium of 21 companies, supported by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, established the Japanese Research and Development Association for HIP in the food industry with the objective of accelerating the implementation of HIP technology in the food industry. In April 1990, the efforts resulted in the introduction of a first high-pressure processed food, that is, high pressure jam. The status of high-pressure technology is such that a number of crucial requirements for the commercial application of high-pressure technology in the food industry, like capacity, fast cycling in combination with three shifts per day operations, safety, and process control, can readily be met.
