Elea’s PiCon Sense Wins Silver FoodTec Award: AI Listens to the Cut to Perfect PEF Treatment
Elea Technology GmbH has received the Silver International FoodTec Award 2027 for PiCon Sense, its digital platform for real-time Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) process monitoring and optimisation, the company announced on October 8, 2026. The official award ceremony will take place during Anuga FoodTec 2027 in Cologne on February 23.
"We are honoured to receive the Silver International FoodTec Award. PiCon Sense represents an important step towards smarter food processing. By combining real-time monitoring with AI-supported analysis, it enables food processors to better understand, optimise and continuously improve PEF performance under real production conditions," said Stefan Toepfl, Managing Director of Elea Technology GmbH.
The technology addresses a genuine blind spot in PEF processing. PEF treatment — applying short high-voltage pulses to potato tissue before cutting — has become standard in the fry and chip industry because it softens cell structure, improves cutting quality, reduces breakage and oil uptake, and shortens blanching. But natural raw materials are constantly changing: variety, season, dry matter content and storage conditions all influence how a product responds to treatment. Traditionally, effectiveness is verified through manual testing and routine quality checks — sampling that is slow and intermittent.
Weekdays. Unsubscribe in one click.
PiCon Sense takes a different route: it listens. Microphone and vibration sensors are installed on the knife and below the cutting head, continuously analysing the acoustic and vibration signals generated during cutting. Because PEF-treated tissue cuts differently from untreated tissue, these signals give immediate insight into treatment effectiveness. AI-powered analysis continuously evaluates performance and provides the information needed to optimise treatment parameters based on the actual product response — reducing the need for manual calibration. Beyond verification, continuous monitoring helps identify unexpected changes in raw-material behaviour and process abnormalities before they impact production.
The product, originally developed and submitted as the PiCon Tool project, is now part of Elea's PiCon platform and commercially available as PiCon Sense. Elea will exhibit at Anuga FoodTec 2027 in Cologne from February 23 to 26 (Hall 10.1, stand B-068-C-069), showcasing the award-winning solution alongside its broader PEF range — applications that now span French fries, potato chips, fruit processing, wine, olive oil and juice production.
For potato processors, the commercial logic is straightforward: PEF is a fixed cost per tonne treated, and its value is realised only when the treatment level matches the raw material on the line at that moment. A system that continuously closes that loop — with awards juries and early adopters now aligned — moves PEF from a set-and-forget utility to a managed process parameter.
