Quakenbrück (DIL). Prof. Dr. Stefan Töpfl was awarded the Hahn Research Prize on 20 November 2009 in Lübeck, Germany. The prize was granted for the excellent achievements in his dissertation which deals with the innovative technology of pulsed electrical fields.

The 11th Georg Hahn Research Prize 2009 was offered in an open international competition. The awards ceremony took place at G. C. HAHN & Co. Stabilisierungstechnik GmbH, the producer of food systems for the food industry. The prize aims at supporting young scientists and technologists working in the food science, food technology, food biotechnology or nutrition field. The Hahn Research Price for excellent scientific work with industrial application potential was awarded for the first time in 1988. It is a biennial award presently worth 7.500 Euro.

This year, Prof. Dr. Stefan Töpfl won the competition against 14 national and international applicants. He is heading the process development division at the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL) in Quakenbrück, Germany; he is also professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Osnabrück where he is holding a chair in the department of Business Administration and Engineering in Food Production. Prof. Töpfl was recognized for his dissertation which focuses on the processing of food by means of a new industrial process, the application of so called pulsed electrical fields (PEF).

The PEF technology can be applied to improve the permeability of cell membranes in a reversible or irreversible way, depending on the intensity. The electroporation takes place within the range of milliseconds through the buildup of an electrical field. In food processing, pulsed electrical fields are generated by continuously operating systems. The pulse rate is depending on the product flow.

With this process it is, amongst others, possible to inactivate microorganisms at low temperatures for improved shelf life of the food products. The advantage of this process compared to traditional pasteurization is that the nutritional and functional properties as well as the freshness of the food products are being maintained to the largest possible extent. Apart from being a preservation process, the PEF method can also be applied for increasing the juice yield in fruit pressing or for facilitating and optimizing extraction, drying and curing processes. The advantages of this technology are the continuous operation and the short processing times.
 
Until now, the industrial application of this process was limited. In his dissertation, Prof. Töpfl identified many promising application opportunities for the food industry including the treatment of temperature sensitive products such as juices, smoothies, emulsions and liquid egg products. Added to that, the influence and the optimal setting of different processing parameters were investigated within the scope of his work and cost analysis comparisons with conventional processes were made.

The development of the PEF treatment cells at DIL is based on the results of his dissertation. The institute develops and researches this technology and distributes the pulsed generators on industrial scale to food producers all over the world under the ELCRACK® brand.

The head of the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL), Dr. Volker Heinz, was also one of the winners of the Hahn Research Prize. He received this prize in 2003 for his work in the field of high pressure technology.