Rapid DNA screening to secure the global food supply chains

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Counterfeit, contaminated or non-compliant ingredients cost the global supply chain €83.5bn+ annually. Both raw ingredients & finished products can become contaminated with bacteria, allergens & undeclared substances during processing at any stage of the supply chain. Putting the situation under control results in product recalls, health risks assessments & major facility decontaminations. These expensive mitigation measures could be prevented by proper food testing before it is released to the next step in the food supply chain or to the consumers. Unfortunately, this rarely happens because the laboratories that carry out tests require up to 7 days to produce the results. Such long waiting times are not compatible with the product shelf lives & distribution schedules. As a result, most of food products are brought to the market without comprehensive food safety tests, which results in ~30 food recalls per week both in the EU & the US. SwissDeCode has developed DNAFoil—world’s first portable, completely self-administered onsite DNA test, allowing food production managers to validate supply chain integrity in 30 minutes with no lab, no equipment & no disruption to the process. It also allows inspectors & food manufacturers to replace current lengthy DNA tests that are performed in the laboratories with instantaneous testing in the field. DNAFoil already available pork DNA test will be joined by beef detection and multi-spectrum vegetal detection in 2017, shortly followed by salmonella, e. coli & listeria. We have started commercialization through beta sales in the early access program. Our business model is B2B. Our customers operate throughout the complete value chain—food & drink producers, distributors, retailers, caterers & regulatory agencies. We are aiming at ~€16.7m in revenues by 2022 with 56 FTEs.