HONESDALE, PA. — Alpine Wurst & Meat House announced on Dec. 20 the completed installation of a high pressure processing (HPP) machine.

The meat processor expects the addition to allow Alpine to work as a third-party toller for other food processors in its area of Pennsylvania.

Alpine, owned and operated by Mark and Gretchen Eifert, has used HPP on its products since 2015. 

“We don’t want to put in the preservatives and chemicals because it changes the flavor of our product, and consumers nowadays are looking at ingredients; they’re more health conscientious,” Gretchen Eifert said. 

Before this investment, the Eiferts were transporting products to the closest HPP toller in Connecticut. 

“Then I said to him one day, ‘What we pay to go to Connecticut would be a loan payment for our own machine,’” she said.

HPP works by loading sealed packages into vessels that are submerged in water and put under intense isostatic pressure. This pressure stops pathogens and spoilage bacteria, which helps preserve freshness and increase shelf life.

For its plant upgrade Alpine installed a Hiperbaric 135 HPP Machine, building a new facility dedicated to the process. The company uses the machine for sausages and smoked products like bacon, cold cuts, pork chops and hams. 

“When we did use some preservatives, we only got a two- to three-week shelf life. But now we get a three- to four-month shelf life,” she said.

She noted that consumers can also look at Alpine’s labels and see only ingredients like spices and seasonings instead of preservative names.

The addition of the machine will also help Alpine’s wholesale business and expand into more than 400 grocery stores. 

Alpine is a second-generation meat processor that was founded in 1977. The Eiferts took over the business from Mark’s parents in 2009 after their retirement.