Tel Aviv University’s Dr Alexander Goldberg found that long term listeris monocytogenes proliferation control in milk by IDPEF (intermittently pulsed electric fields) has implications for food security in low income countries.

Pulsed electric fields delivered for just a fraction of a second destroy cells by damaging the cell membrane and kills bacteria as opposed to refrigeration, which merely slows the metabolism of bacteria.

IDPEF does not require a constant electricity supply and can be powered in five and a half hours a day using small family scale solar panels, making it ideal for small scale farmers in low income countries.

Dr Goldberg believes that IDPEF can provide a robust, simple and energy efficient milk preservation system that would decrease the wasted milk and increase the income of small farmers in developing countries.

Further research is still required in several areas, including the materials that be used for the storage chamber.