Poultry processor launches food protection technology

Maple Lodge Farms, a Brampton, Ont.-based producer of poultry products, has introduced its own revolutionary food protection technology called SafeSure High Pressure Processing System.

Maple Lodge is the first poultry processor in Canada to invest in this technology for its deli products.

Protection against bacteria

The technology, says the company, provides exceptional food protection against bacteria such as Listeria, fresher taste and longer shelf life for its products when compared to food that has undergone conventional food-preservation techniques.

The technology comes from Kent, Wash.-based Avure Technologies Inc., which specializes in the design, manufacturing, installation and global support of high pressure presses and high pressure pasteurization systems to keep food pathogen-free and fresh longer.

Greatest benefit

Of course the most critical benefit the technology provides is that it disables pathogens such as Listeria, Salmonella and E.coli, as well as bacteria that cause food spoilage.

SafeSure is implemented as the last stage of the process and virtually eradicates most potential pathogens before the products leave the plant. And because these products are processed in their packaging, there is absolutely no risk of recontamination as long as the packaging remains intact.

Consumers value safety

A survey of Canadian consumers, conducted by BrandTrust in December 2008, found that food safety now ranks virtually equal to freshness when considering purchasing processed meats – 94 per cent of respondents ranked food freshness as the most influential factor, with 92 per cent also ranking food safety.

More about SafeSure

SafeSure High Pressure Processing is when foods, such as deli meats, are exposed to extraordinary pressures (87,000 pounds per square inch) for a short period of time.

To put this into context, the deepest trench in the ocean exerts 16,000 pounds per square inch of pressure, which can crush most living creatures and a submarine hull.

SafeSure operates at five times this pressure, which disables virtually any potentially existing spoilage organism or illness-causing bacteria found within the product and package – not just on the surface. It leaves molecules such as vitamins and flavour compounds intact.