OUR TECHNOLOGY

THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND OUR COLD PRESSED RAW MILK

Our cold pressed raw milk is made safe and kept fresh using High Pressure Processing (HPP) technology. HPP is a gentle, natural way to preserve food and drink products, without the use of additives or heat, but instead using cold high pressure. This destroys any pathogens that may be present and keeps our milk fresh and delicious as it makes its way to you.

The HPP process begins by loading a vessel with sealed bottles filled with cold raw milk. The vessel is then moved into the HPP machine where air pumps cold water through tiny holes into the vessel. The movement of water pushing through tiny holes creates a build-up of very high pressure, which is applied evenly to the bottles of milk inside the vessel. This is known as isostatic pressure and because the same level of pressure is applied to every part of the bottle, it does not damage or compress them.

Pathogens that may be present in our raw milk are destroyed in this high pressure environment, delivering an equivalent level of safety as heat pasteurisation, only without the heat.

However, high pressure does not impact the smaller molecules such as vitamins and enzymes. Why is this? It comes down to the size of the molecule; pathogens are large and their cellular membranes are impacted by the high pressure, preventing them from reproducing. Vitamins and enzymes, which are tiny in comparison, are not affected.

For an understanding of the level of pressure that is applied in a HPP environment we can compare it to the deepest part of the ocean, the Mariana Trench, which is 11,000 metres deep. To get a level that simulates the HPP equipment, you would have to go down six times this depth!

Once the high pressure is applied and released, the vessel moves out of the HPP machine and the bottles are unloaded and boxed, ready to ship to stores.

What happens to the pathogens in the milk?

Pathogens cannot survive the HPP environment and they are inactivated by the high pressure. The high pressure inactivates the pathogens by modifying the cellular membranes and interrupting the cellular functions, which are responsible for reproduction. This creates an environment where pathogens can’t grow and multiply, neutralising the environment so that nothing potentially harmful can grow in the product, making our milk safe to drink.

To see our unique method and our cold high pressure processing in action, click on the short video below.

Want to know more, or have a question we haven’t answered? We’d love to hear from you!