Avure HPP easily meets the new EU Listeria standards

18 Sep 2026

EU regulations to manage Listeria monocytogenes may be new and improved, but the risk it poses to consumer health, and brand reputation is not. That's why JBT Marel's Avure High Pressure Processing (HPP) technology is so trusted by food and beverage processors worldwide.

For ready-to-eat meals, dips, deli meats, juice, dairy products, pet foods, seafood, and more, Avure HPP reduces bacterial risk, and stops listeria growth to keep consumers safe, and help processors meet the toughened EU requirements that L. monocytogenes be absent in 25 g of product throughout its entire shelf life, not just at the point it leaves the factory.

Taste, texture, and color preserved

Demand for ready-to-eat food that's healthy, tasty and made with minimal or no preservatives, continues to increase. Consumers across the EU, US, and Asia are willing to pay for quality, variety, and convenience, especially if safety is ensured.

Avure HPP lets processors meet that demand without compromise. Because HPP technology works without heat or chemical preservatives, products retain their natural taste, texture, color, and nutritional value. This opens the door to premium, high-value categories - cooked ham, sliced deli meats, fresh seafood, cold-pressed juice- that would otherwise require preservatives or thermal treatment to hit safety targets. For processors that means access to a market segment that pays for quality, not just shelf stability.

Extended shelf life means a bigger market

Foodborne pathogens and microorganisms are a risk to consumers' health, responsible for food spoilage, and thereby, a threat to bottom lines and brand integrity.

Longer shelf life combined with a genuinely safer product reduces the costly downstream risks of spoilage waste, product recalls, and the brand damage that follows a food safety incident. Using Avure HPP as your preservation step significantly extends shelf life, expanding distribution opportunities, and opening up international markets previously out of reach.

To help processors meet the new EU and global regulatory requirements JBT Marel's in-house laboratories can run validation and challenge studies on any new or reformulated product, giving processors the scientific documentation now required to demonstrate that L. monocytogenes levels stay controlled for the full length of shelf life. The validation results are used as the CCP for the company's HACCP/ISO programs.

How Avure HPP works

Everyone in the food industry knows heat destroys bacteria, but heat can also reduce quality by changing the taste, texture, color, and nutritional value of food. High Pressure Processing works differently. It uses non-thermal technology to inactivate bacteria without cooking the product.

Products already packaged in flexible pouches, tray and top formats, PET bottles or similar, are loaded into Avure HPP's water-filled pressure tube. The door seals, and a high-pressure pump forces additional water into the chamber. By compressing more water into the already filled vessel, it raises the pressure to 6,000 bar - that's the equivalent of being 60 kilometers under the sea. Products stay under pressure for between one to five minutes depending on product pH and/water activity levels. The pressure held for the correct amount of time damages the cell's biochemical activities and the internal structures of the bacteria including L. monocytogenes, Salmonella and E. coli., while leaving the product itself undamaged.

By positioning Avure HPP after processing and packaging, bacteria that may have originated in the manufacturing environment or naturally present in products are eliminated, and, because the product is sealed, it remains safe from recontamination. The system can run up to 24 hours a day, with fast changeover times, and an easy-to-use terminal to manage recipes providing straightforward operation. This ensures processors can plan line runs effectively.

Trust built over four decades

JBT Marel installed our first HPP machine in 1990. Today, our install base spans the globe, across every major ready-to-eat, raw products, pet food, seafood, and beverage category. Four decades of continuous development and tuning to meet real customer and market needs makes Avure HPP and JBT Marel a trusted partner for food processors looking for a better way to preserve value RTE and other products.

What's changed under EU law

First announced in November 2024, the latest amendment to the EU regulation on Listeria monocytogenes came into effect as of July 1, 2026. EU food business operators must now be able to prove that ready-to-eat products capable of supporting listeria growth remain free of detectable L. monocytogenes in 25 g of product for the entire shelf life, not just at point of release. Where growth can be scientifically shown to be controlled, a limit of 100 CFU/g may apply instead; if not, absence in 25 g is the default requirement.

Responsibility no longer ends when the product leaves the factory, it now extends through distribution, retail and right up to the use by date, with the burden of proof sitting squarely with the processor. Read more on the specifics of Regulation (EC) No 2024/2895 here.

This is the problem Avure HPP was built to solve, turning a regulatory requirement into an opportunity to extend shelf life, protect brand reputation, eliminate costly food recalls, and reach higher-value markets.

Ready to see what the Avure HPP could do for your production line? Talk to JBT Marel today

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