Food & Feeding

How HPP Works for Raw Dog & Cat Food

Nicole Groshek  |  February 28, 2024  |  3 minute read

Share this post

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Stella & Chewy’s is a leader in quality assurance and safety. All of our raw dog and cat foods undergo high pressure processing (HPP) to guarantee safety. This proven process is one of the reasons why our raw dog and cat food recipes deliver maximum benefits without the risk of bacterial contamination.

What Is HPP & How Does it Work?

High pressure processing subjects raw dog and cat food to high pressure to eliminate pathogenic bacteria with minimal impact on nutrition and taste.

HPP is a completely natural and chemical-free process. Here’s how it works:

Raw dog and cat food is sealed in packaging that can withstand high pressure and loaded into specially designed HPP equipment. The vessel is filled with cold water, then compressed by pumping in more water (creating hydrostatic pressure). This subjects the food to extremely high-pressure levels— even higher than the pressure at the bottom of the ocean! The pressure is held for several minutes to make sure all microorganisms are terminated.

High pressure kills harmful bacteria by:

• Damaging cell membranes
• Disrupting biochemical reactions
• Causing cell elongation
• Altering the pressure inside cells
• Deactivating bacterial enzymes

Because HPP destroys the integrity of bacteria cells and deactivates the enzymes involved in gene function, pathogens (including E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes) cannot survive. HPP also destroys microorganisms that cause food to spoil, including lactic acid bacteria, coliforms, and more.

While HPP deactivates the enzymes produced by bacteria, it does not impact the natural enzymes found in raw dog or cat food. These beneficial enzymes aid in digestion and support overall health. After HPP and packaging, we send each batch of raw pet food to a third-party testing facility and post the results on our website. You can see the test results for yourself by looking up the lot number on the package.

High Pressure Processing for People Food

High pressure processing isn’t just used for raw pet food! It’s commonly used in manufacturing foods and drinks for humans, including:

• Cold-pressed juices
• Smoothies
• Guacamole
• Cured ham
• Jams and jellies
• Dairy products
• Dips and sauces

HPP not only ensures food safety, it preserves quality and extends shelf life without chemical additives.

High Pressure Processing vs Pasteurization

High pressure processing is also called non-thermal pasteurization or cold pasteurization because it achieves the same result as traditional pasteurization, but without using heat. As a leader in quality assurance and safety, we avoid using heat to sterilize our raw pet foods because thermal pasteurization can:

• Degrade heat-sensitive nutrients such as vitamins C and B12
• Change the taste and smell of food by destroying heat-sensitive flavor compounds
• Soften the texture of food by denaturing proteins, starches and fibers
• Trigger chemical reactions that break down naturally-occurring sugar molecules

High-pressure processing avoids these outcomes by only using cold water and pressure.

Which Stella & Chewy’s Products Use HPP?

As a leader in quality assurance and safety, all of our frozen raw and freeze-dried raw pet foods, meal mixers and treats undergo high-pressure processing to eliminate pathogens and preserve the pure nutrition of the raw ingredients:

• Frozen raw & freeze-dried raw dog food
• Frozen raw & freeze-dried raw cat food
• Raw inclusions in raw-coated and raw blend kibble

Learn more about our commitment to dog and cat food safety and how to safely feed frozen raw dog or cat food to your pet.