High pressure processing (HPP) will begin in mid-December at UPC Southeast LLC in the Atlanta suburb of Villa Rica, Georgia. Representing the latest expansion of the Avure Certified HPP Tolling Partner Provider Network, UPC Southeast is a wholly owned subsidiary of Universal Pasteurization Company (UPC), LLC, which has been operating a tolling operation using HPP systems from Avure Technologies in Lincoln, Nebraska, since 2011.

Earlier this year Universal acquired a 90,000 sq. ft. facility on a 12-acre site in Villa Rica, west of Atlanta. The facility is situated just off I-20, convenient to several major trucking routes and the southern corridor to the mid-South. Initially, this facility will house two large Avure HPP systems with the ability to expand to as many as six HPP systems and create 60 new jobs in Villa Rica. The first of these Avure HPP 350L-600s has already been delivered, and the local hiring process has begun.

High pressure processing has become the preferred technology for producing safe, clean label products with extended shelf life. HPP is a USDA- and FDA-recognized process that utilizes hydrostatic pressure to destroy harmful bacteria in foods while keeping nutrients, texture, and valuable enzymes intact. HPP’s widespread applications include ready-to-eat proteins, raw ground poultry, deli salads, premium juices, and many other high quality food products.

“With growing awareness and demand for high pressure processing, it is critical for the overall capacity of our HPP toll processing network to increase, especially in the Southeast U.S. where the meat and poultry industries continue to thrive,” comments Matt Rutherford, Avure Senior Vice President of Business Development and Global Sales. “In 2013, we’ve seen a lot of expansion in the toll processing network here in the U.S., with APC in California, Hope Foods in Colorado, Stay Fresh Foods in Connecticut, and now Universal in the Southeast. This has been a record year for expansion of HPP toll processing,” Rutherford adds.

“We are excited to expand our network of tolling locations to better serve our existing as well as future customers,” says Jeff Barnard, President of UPC. “We are making this significant investment in the Southeast to help our customers meet the demand for HPP products they are seeing in the market.” The new facility in Villa Rica will serve primarily a region including Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee east of the Tennessee River. For more information about high pressure processing, visit Avure’s new website at www.avure.com.

Universal, based in Lincoln, NE, is a leading independent provider of cold storage, high pressure pasteurization, and other value‐added services to food manufacturers. Universal is comprised of two complementary segments (Universal Cold Storage and Universal Pasteurization Company) and provides customers with a one-stop shop for cold storage, HPP and related value added services. Universal Pasteurization Company, LLC, was formed in 2010. UPC Southeast, LLC, will operate a new HPP-focused facility serving the southeast United States, located in Villa Rica, GA. For more information, visit www.universalcoldstorage.com.