Cured, cooked or prepared meat products are ideal for high pressure processing technology. Due to fact that high pressure acts uniformly over the entire product, it is possible to process efficiently any format (a whole piece, slices, pieces, strips, etc.), maintaining both the integrity and initial volume. The product may be skin-, MAP-, or vacuum-packed. The materials used should be flexible or semi-flexible (15-20%) to allow for compression during the process.

Products processed using this technology can already be found in the international market, such as sliced or whole cured ham, cooked pork, turkey or chicken ham, mortadella, sausages, bacon, chorizo and cooked, roast or simply marinated chicken pieces.

The shelf life of the product is two to three times longer, due to the elimination of pathogens, yeast, moulds and any other vegetative flora which could alter the product. The high pressure maintains the original organoleptic properties whilst promoting the product’s food safety.

Cooked meat products

• Eliminate any recontamination of products through handling and packaging
• Extend the refrigerated shelf life
• Maintain the shape and volume of the product
• Allows reductions in  salt content (the pressure acts as a salt-taste enhancer)
• Allows an additive-free product to be obtained (“clean label”) without altering the shelf life

Cured meat products

• Maintain the original colour and flavour
• Ensure the elimination of Listeria enabling export to countries requiring its total absence (e.g., the USA and Japan)
• Enables the control of fermentative microflora and allows the products to be kept out of refrigeration.

Marinated meat

• Guarantees the food safety of the packaged product
• Extends the refrigerated shelf life
• Maintains the fresh / raw flavour of the ingredients

Other applications

• Increases the food safety of fresh meat for sale to catering companies and restaurants
• Meat tenderization

The leading pressurised meat product marketed worldwide was cured ham, in order to eliminate Listeria. Currently this process is completely applied within this sector. High-pressure technology has been approved in the U.S. by the FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Service) for the sanitisation of food.