Meet Professor Emeritus Petr Dejmek – a pioneer in food engineering and one of the innovators behind the patented technology that helped form OptiCept Technologies.
Petr has spent decades exploring how Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) can transform food processing — improving texture, boosting juice yield, enabling gentle preservation, and opening new possibilities for plant-based foods. His research at Lund University, combined with international collaborations and industry work at Alfa Laval, has shaped much of today’s understanding of PEF technology.
With over 120 scientific publications, global visiting professorships, and several food-tech spin-offs behind him, Petr remains a key voice in the field.
In this interview, he reveals the story behind PEF, how it works, whether it will become standard in the food industry, and where the next big breakthroughs are coming.
Professor Emeritus Petr Dejmek is a distinguished scholar in food engineering with a career spanning more than four decades and one of the originators behind the patented technology that became the foundation of OptiCept Technologies.
He earned his Dipl. Ing. (MSc Eng) in Chemical Engineering from RWTH Aachen in 1970, followed by a Tekn. Dr. (PhD Eng) in Food Engineering in 1975, focusing on concentration polarisation in ultrafiltration of macromolecules. In 1978, he became a docent at the Department of Food Engineering at Lund University, marking the beginning of a long and influential academic career.
Throughout his professional journey, Petr held key research and leadership positions both in academia and industry. After early roles at Lund University, he worked in R&D at Alfa Laval Dairy and Alfa Laval Filtration Systems, where he contributed to process development and innovation.
In 1990, he was appointed professor of Food Engineering at Lund University, serving also as department head from 1990 to 1998. Since 2015, he has been a professor emeritus in Process & Life Science Engineering.
His scientific contributions include more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, several book chapters, and co-editorship of Engineering Aspects of Food Emulsification and Homogenization (CRC Press, 2015). He has supervised a large number of PhD students—both as principal and assistant supervisor—and has hosted numerous postdoctoral researchers from around the world.
He is listed as an inventor on key patents combining pulsed electric fields (PEF) with vacuum infusion to protect texture and quality in plant tissues—work that underpins OptiCept’s CEPT® platform used across foods, beverages, and plant materials.
Contact OptiCept today, and let’s discuss how we could help you in your dehydration process.
Professor Federico Gómez is a leading researcher at Lund University, where his interdisciplinary work bridges food science, plant biology, and biotechnology. In this video interview, we delve into his vision for the future of electroporation and PEF.
The OPTICEPT L7 HC, our largest-capacity PEF system to date, is engineered for high-throughput treatment of liquid and pumpable foods.
Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) technology and conventional thermal processing represent two distinct approaches, each with its strengths and limitations. This blog post explores these methods side by side, focusing on energy efficiency, product quality, and environmental impact, to help producers make informed decisions.
