Rapid DNA screening to secure the global food supply chains

Project Information

DNAFoil

Grant agreement ID: 836046

DOI

10.3030/836046

Project closed

EC signature date 28 November 2018

Start date 1 December 2018

End date 31 March 2019

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

SWISSDECODE SA
Switzerland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DNAFoil (Rapid DNA screening to secure the global food supply chains)

Reporting period: 2018-12-01 to 2019-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Counterfeit, contaminated or non-compliant ingredients cost the global food supply chain €83.5bn+ annually. Ingredients may be contaminated at any stage of the process. Remedies for adverse events include; product recalls, health risks assessments & major facility decontaminations. These expensive measures could be prevented by proper food testing prior to release to the next step in the value chain. Unfortunately, this rarely happens, laboratory tests often take several days and these waiting times are not compatible with speed need in the supply chain. The result; most products are brought to market without comprehensive food safety tests, resulting in ~30 food recalls per week in the EU & the US. SwissDeCode has developed DNAFoil—world’s first portable, completely self-administered onsite DNA test. Food production managers can now validate supply chain integrity in 30 minutes with no lab, no equipment & no disruption to the process. It also allows inspectors & manufacturers to replace current lengthy DNA tests with instantaneous testing in the field.
SwissDeCode’s ultimate objective is to develop the standard food industry technology for real-time certification of food authenticity, quality, and supply chain.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The study’s objectives were:
Commercial
▪Assessment of market potential of DNAFoil for pathogens.
▪ Pricing model for a rapid bacteria screening test
▪ Go-to-market approach to expand DNAFoil to all segments of the food value chain
list of potential partners for market development & go-to market strategy.
▪ Validate the product/market fit for DNAFoil-as-a-service ⇒ Min 10+ prospect interviews.
▪ A preliminary market analysis & a prioritized list of market requirements, for blockchain and/or digital solutions
Technical
▪ Identify partners to develop digital blockchain infrastructure for DNAFoil
▪ Identify manufacturing and development partners for capsules & devices

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

This study was critical in defining the next phase of development. We went farther than was original planned in the study. We now have working demonstrators of BEAMit up. We signed our first EAP clients, and a distribution deal for the Basmati Rice authentication market. It became clear in the study that to capture the most value and strengthen our USPs, we need to implement ISO17025. We have initiated this process are currently working with SGS. Our accreditation is planned for November 2019. In Q3 2019 we plan to ship our BEAMitup platform to the first 4 EAP clients.