Netherlands-based PEF Technologies, a company that provides food and beverage preservation with nanosecond pulsed electric fields as the solution, announced on March 31 that it has secured fresh funding. The funding amount has not been disclosed.
The company mentions that the investment came from Energiefonds Overijssel, Icos Capital and Oost NL.
Carl Heijne, Food team manager at Oost NL, says, “PEF Technologies has developed a unique technique that leads to improved food quality, safer food and more sustainable production. That social impact, in addition to the large potential market, makes it a business case that suits us well.”
Radboud Dood, Investment Manager at Energiefonds Overijssel, adds, “With this investment, we emphasise our confidence in nanoPEF preservation as a game-changing sustainable technology for the food industry.”
“The PEF Technologies team is fully committed to executing the plan to make nanoPEF the next pasteurisation standard, resulting in food with better taste, better quality and in a better environment.”
Innovative food processing technology
Founded in 2018 by Valeriy Mitko, PEF Technologies’ solution applies nanosecond pulsed electric fields to food and beverage preservation.
According to the company, food processing with nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields (nanoPEF) inactivates spoilage microorganisms and pathogens while retaining the original taste, flavour, and nutritional content.
It also reduces CO2 emissions significantly and extends the shelf life of processed liquids up to one month.
The use of nanoPEF technology is not confined to a single product category. It can be applied to any sort of identical product, such as drinks, yoghurts, wines, etc.
PEF Technologies says, “We started our nanoPEF journey 5 years ago after observing the biggest industry challenges faced by every food producer such as reducing energy consumption and maintaining product quality.”
“We recognised that there is no perfect preservation technology existed for heat-sensitive products to tackle both high safety and intact nutritional value.”
Capital utilisation
Yulia Mitko, Director of Operations at PEF Technologies, says, “Over the past few years we have carried out many positive tests with food manufacturers from different sectors. Our goal, however, is the most complicated product: milk.”
“In addition to pasteurisation, there are several other alternative preservation technologies, but none are fully suitable for milk processing, without compromising the functionality of valuable proteins.”
“The first tests of milk treated with nanoPEF were promising, so we are now validating our technology at a large dairy producer in the Netherlands.”
The company believes its energy-efficient nanoPEF-preservation could be a game changer in the creation of milk-based ingredients or novel high-nutritional foods. And with the raised capital, it will be able to launch its machine into the market very shortly.
