Worker sorting unbranded white squeeze pouches with pink caps on an APC production line

Our Services

Premium Product Manufacturing and HPP Tolling Under One Roof

MANUFACTURING + HPP

At American Pasteurization Company (APC), customers’ products can be manufactured, packaged, treated with high-pressure processing (HPP), and prepared for distribution without leaving the facility.

HPP TOLLING

Brands that manufacture elsewhere can send their products to APC for HPP tolling, followed by assembly, pack-off, and logistics support.

Four unbranded juice bottles—green, orange, dark red, and yellow—on a stainless-steel counter in a commercial processing facility

How Our Services Work Together

With HPP systems alongside our manufacturing lines, products can be pasteurized within hours of production, without transfers to an outside HPP provider. Keeping these steps together reduces handling and cold-chain risk, helps protect refrigerated shelf life, and supports faster time to market, lower freight and cold storage costs, and tighter quality control.

Our SQF-certified facilities in Milwaukee, WI, and Sacramento, CA, are independently audited against global food safety and quality management standards.

Product Development

We work closely with customers preparing products for manufacturing or HPP at APC, providing practical assistance throughout development. This includes:

  • HPP product guidance Expert insights into HPP technology.
  • Regulatory and supply chain support Working with customers to address requirements and prepare for production and distribution.
  • Formulation development and adjustments Optimizing recipes, including clean-label formulation.
  • Packaging recommendations and referrals Guidance on materials and methods.
Out-of-focus commercial kitchen with ceiling lights reflecting off overhead exhaust hoods and stainless steel equipment, in a cool blue tone.
Culinary team in hairnets and white shirts preparing fresh produce—onions, lemons, and leafy greens—at a commercial kitchen prep counter.
  • HACCP integration Simplifying compliance with food safety standards, including full program integration for USDA-regulated products.
  • Laboratory referrals Accurate testing for quality assurance.
  • Product and packaging testing Validating performance under HPP.

Customers have full access to our Innovation Center for formulation, packaging, and regulatory development.

Our team is available to discuss co-developing new SKUs or reformulating for clean-label claims.

Unbranded white squeeze pouches with green caps moving upright through automated packaging equipment at APC

Premium Product Manufacturing

APC’s Milwaukee and Sacramento facilities handle a wide range of product categories and packaging formats, from bulk-bagged soups and sauces to squeeze pouches, RTE meals, prepared proteins, and specialty sides.

  • Shipping and receiving team coordination for inbound raw materials
  • Ingredient handling
  • Co-manufacturing tailored to each product’s specific requirements
  • Flexible batch sizes for emerging brands and high-volume capacity for established ones
  • Expertise in fresh, refrigerated, and ready-to-eat product formats

HPP Tolling

High-pressure processing (HPP) uses water pressure up to 87,000 psi to deactivate harmful pathogens, including Listeria, E. coli, and Salmonella. For suitable products, it enhances food safety and extends refrigerated shelf life from just days to weeks or months without high heat or synthetic preservatives, while helping retain taste, texture, color, and nutritional quality.

With HPP tolling, customers manufacture their products at their own facility or with another producer and send them to APC for HPP at a simple per-pound price. We follow each product’s validated specifications, then complete the required assembly and palletizing, and coordinate shipment to the destination they specify.

Unlabeled orange, deep-red, and green juice bottles with white caps inside scuffed off-white processing baskets on metal rails.
Blue HPP loading baskets moving through stainless-steel high-pressure processing equipment

An Alternative to Owning HPP Equipment

HPP equipment represents a substantial capital investment, and the expense does not end with the purchase. Installation, dedicated floor space, trained operators, replacement parts, and ongoing maintenance all contribute to the cost.

With tolling, APC manages the equipment, staffing, and maintenance. Customers can continue using their existing production setup, and capital that would have gone into an HPP installation remains available for marketing, ingredients, inventory, product development, and other business priorities.

Flexible Volumes and Production Schedules

Customers can vary the amount of product they send us and work with our team to schedule runs around their production and distribution needs. Seasonal items, ingredient availability, and changes in demand can all affect how much needs to be processed from one month to the next.

This arrangement also accommodates:

  • New products and market trials: Introducing a new SKU or testing demand in a regional market before committing to an equipment purchase.
  • Retail promotions: Increasing volumes for a promotional period, then scaling back as orders return to normal.
  • Expanding distribution: Building volume as additional retailers, stores, or territories come on board, rather than purchasing equipment based on projected demand.
  • Selected product lines: Using HPP for the products that need it, even when the rest of the portfolio does not.
  • Existing manufacturing relationships: Continuing to work with a trusted producer that does not offer HPP.
Workers loading packaged food into green processing baskets on a stainless-steel production line

Post-HPP Product Solutions, Assembly & Pack-Off

APC handles the full downstream process so each product is retail- and distribution-ready before it leaves our facility.

Post-HPP Product Solutions

  • Package inspectionVerifying quality and safety.
  • Metal detectionEnhancing food safety protocols.
  • Inkjet & date code applicationSupporting traceability and compliance with all regulatory authorities.
  • Barcode applicationSimplifying inventory management.

Assembly Solutions

  • Lidding for cups & containers: Getting products shelf-ready.
  • Tamper-band application
  • Labeling
  • Shrink sleeving: Custom branding for retail.
  • Custom assembly for retail- and foodservice-ready SKUs
  • Box erecting, boxing, and pack-off: Ready-to-ship packaging.
  • Palletizing: Secure transport and storage.

We tailor assembly services to meet each project’s needs.

For brands managing tight launch timelines, having assembly and coding in the same facility as manufacturing and HPP saves time at every step of the project.

Warehouse aisle with pallet racks holding boxed and stretch-wrapped food products.

Cold Chain & Logistics Support

HPP-treated products require unbroken refrigeration from processing through delivery. APC helps customers maintain it.

  • Strategic bi-coastal locations that reduce freight costs and transit time for brands distributing nationally
  • Cold storage referrals with vetted partners to extend freshness
  • Shipping and receiving team coordination for outbound finished goods
  • Export certification & documentation Supporting global distribution
  • Refrigerated freight coordination for domestic and export shipments
  • Expedited shipping coordination to reduce spoilage and improve timing

Our team works with customers’ logistics providers to keep the cold chain intact from production through final distribution.

Our Capabilities and Experience

APC was the first company to offer HPP tolling services in the United States. We have processed thousands of SKUs across North America. Our guidance draws on that experience.

  • Over two decades of experience in high pressure processing and food manufacturing, including product categories, regulatory environments, and failure modes that newer providers haven’t encountered
  • USDA Organic certification for applicable product categories
  • Founding member of the Cold Pressure Council (CPC), the industry organization responsible for HPP process standards, consumer education, and the Verified Cold Pressure certification program

Starting a Project

For customers evaluating HPP for the first time, we help determine whether their product is a good candidate and what the path to market looks like.

For brands ready to scale, we build a production plan around their timeline, volume requirements, and distribution goals.

Request a Quote: Product details and production needs.

Talk to Our Team: Questions about HPP suitability, regulatory requirements, or logistics. We answer them directly.