Avure Technologies Named 2005 Excellence in Technology Transfer Award Winner
High-Pressure Food Processing Increasing Safety and Quality
6-28-2005 - Kent, WA - Avure Technologies Inc., a U.S.-based subsidiary of Flow International Corporation (NASDAQ: FLOW), announced today that is has jointly received the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) 2005 Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer with the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center, Solder System Command, Defense Combat Feeding Directorate. This award recognizes individuals who have accomplished outstanding work in the process of transferring a technology sponsored by a federal laboratory into industry practice. Nominations are made by FLC Laboratory Representatives and judged by representatives from industry, state and local government, academia, and federal laboratories.
Avure received the 2005 award as the result of work with Dr. C. Patrick Dunne of the Department of Defense Combat Feeding Directorate, and Dr. Edmund Ting, Avure Technologies, Inc., who have forged partnerships to foster the development and industrial application of High Pressure Processing (HPP), a revolutionary process in food preservation technology. The U.S. Army first sponsored research into HPP in the early 1990s which later lead to Avure's investments into the HPP food market. HPP is being applied to meet the joint demands of the military for expanding variety and improving the quality of combat rations and for civilian sector convenience foods containing whole muscle meats and other thermally sensitive items, such as eggs, potato and pasta products. Since 2001, a number of HPP foods have begun to appear in the marketplace as a direct result of technology transfer between the Army and Avure.
"HPP would not exist in the US if not for the leadership demonstrated by the U.S. Army Natick Lab from the beginning," said Dr. Ting. The use of high hydrostatic pressure has proven to be a very effective means of controlling the activity of both spoilage and disease-causing microorganisms in refrigerated food items. High-pressure processed foods meet today's consumer demands for minimally processed, additive-free foods with fresh-like characteristics while providing the ultimate in safety. The U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center and Avure Technologies have formed a consortium involving major food producers to build a base for HPP technology. This consortium was formed under the auspices of the Army's Dual Use Science and Technology (DUST) program. An approved high pressure-assisted sterilization process is expected to be approved by regulatory agencies within one year.
In the pasteurized product area, HPP has been found to be extremely effective in destroying food-borne pathogens and spoilage organisms. HPP is utilized by leading food producers such as: Hormel Foods, Perdue Farms, Avomex, Clearwater Seafoods, Winsom's, Calavo, Motivatit Seafood, Lovitt Farms, Joey Oyster, Jumex, Leahy Orchards and others. HPP renders food with not only longer shelf life but also more of their fresh taste, color, texture and nutritional value.