Absolutely. Thank you very much for the question.
I think everybody has seen this picture. This is a picture of one our machines in one of our facilities. We use these two machines to treat or process all the products that go through that one particular facility.
The product is packaged in its finished package, and then it is put into this machine. The machine is closed, the chamber is filled with water, and then the water is pressurized to 87,000 pounds. It sits at that pressure for a number of minutes, then the pressure is released. The product comes out the other end and looks the same as when it went in.
What happens in the process is that any living organism cannot withstand that pressure, the microbial functions that bacteria go through can no longer function, they're disrupted, and they die. That's why it's in its finished product, in its package, and nothing can survive that process. It's a very clean, efficient process. The only net effect to the product is it comes out a little bit wet, and then we dry it off and package it off.
It's a very good procedure for killing the bacteria, if there are any in the product. We already have typically less than 10, or even less than three, count per gram going in anyway, which is a very low count. But you get a four-, five-, or six-log reduction from going through this piece of equipment, and you really have no bacteria. There are no bacteria left. We are continually doing tests. We have zero count coming out the other end. It's a great technology for that.
The problem is that it's very expensive. It's a batch system, not a continuous system, and to be able to do all the volume that we have in all our facilities would require many machines. So it's an expensive proposition, and of course you have to pick the products that you put through there, whether they be a lower-salt or a higher-risk product or what have you. But the technology is excellent, and we're using it on a full-time basis.
I think yes, absolutely, it's something that the industry is going to use and embrace, and you will see more of this technology in the coming years.