HPP stands for High Pressure Processing, which is a food preservation technique. In the context of dog food, HPP dog food refers to products that have undergone this process.
High Pressure Processing involves subjecting the food to high levels of hydrostatic pressure, typically between 87,000 and 130,000 pounds per square inch (psi). This pressure effectively kills harmful bacteria, molds, yeasts, and other pathogens that may be present in the food.
HPP is considered a more natural and gentle method of preservation compared to traditional heat-based methods like pasteurization, as it doesn’t involve high temperatures that might degrade the nutritional content or alter the taste and texture of the food.
HPP dog food is often marketed as a safer and more nutritious option for pets, as it helps maintain the integrity of the ingredients while ensuring food safety.
Because these foods have been processed, they are not technically considered raw.
For many years, there has been a negative opinion about feeding dogs HPP foods. Long believed to upset the microbial balance of foods by damaging both pathogens and probiotics alike, leaving no protection against further contamination. High Pressure pasteurization depletes and irreversibly denatures and strips away naturally-occurring proteins, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and beneficial bacteria.
But new studies and new technology have been making great strides in this area.
HPP has been most often recommended by veterinarians who were concerned about raw foods and bacteria, salmonella, etc.
Interestingly enough, we find it in grocery store foods now as well… it’s just not marketed as such.
So as things change, we need update our own thinking
Green Juju (no affiliation) currently has HPP food options. They may be worth considering for dogs with compromised immune systems and certain allergy conditions not resolved through other means.
more to come (now I’m off to update my blog)