Groundbreaking DNA-based food testing firm bags investment cash
Geneius has developed DNA-based technology to identify both pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes (LM) and Salmonella as well as spoilage organisms that is both quicker and more accurate than conventional methods, firm managing director Jerry Barnes told FoodProductionDaily.com.
The firm was established in 2007 as a spin out from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in a bid to commercialise advanced DNA knowledge as an alternative testing method in a range of sectors including food and drink.
Reed and three other directors from the drinks outfit put up half the investment in Geneius after being impressed with their work for Innocent. Geneius said it has been working with Innocent’s technical team for more than two years, with Reed monitoring developments in the business for over 12 months.
The Geneius chief said the money will be used to accelerate the development and marketing of a number of new tests, as well as more than doubling staff numbers from 20 to 50 over the next two years – including the recruitment of a commercial manager.
Speed and ‘bar code’ precision
Barnes said the analysis methods on offer from the company have huge advantages over current testing procedures.
“Traditional approaches rely on the culture of the targeted organism on ‘specific’ media, and confirmation via a suite of imperfect biochemical tests, with fast testing for pathogens heavily reliant on ELISA-based approaches - which are not very sensitive and subject to the vagaries of false positive identifications,” he explained.
“Our unique DNA-based testing approaches, which are used against targeted organisms and can be used to identify any and all unknown micro-organisms (16S/28S microID), yield barcode precision and unprecedented speed of identification.”
Salmonella can be confirmed in 2.5 days, and LM in 3.5 days – both representing significant cuts in turnaround time, said the company.
Another major advantage is the DNA fingerprinting approaches prevents false positive identifications and “enable pathogen confirmation with absolute certainty in timescales once thought impossible”, said the MD.
“Food producers working to positive release of product based on microbiological screening can gain several days’ advantage over their competitors at no significant extra cost for their testing portfolio,” said Barnes.
