IdentiGEN, a TCD spin-out company whose technology enables the trace back of food products, has received a €12m investment from MML Capital Partners, an Enterprise Ireland-backed fund.
The investment has been used to buy out a number of minority stakes, including 28pc held by Yeoman Capital, and invest in a growth plan for the company.
The company, which employs 60 people, plans to double job numbers over the next three years.
IdentiGEN’s verification technology is used by food and retail companies around the world to verify the quality and origin of food using DNA tracing.
For example, Canada’s largest supermarket chain, Loblow Companies Ltd, is using IdentiGEN’s DNA-based traceability process to guarantee origins and improve eating quality of Loblaw’s cuts from Canada AAA Western Beef. The product is being launched in 77 Real Canadian Superstore locations in Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
The technology is also being used to provide an indisputable layer of proof that the breed of animal is what it claims to be. For example it is used by the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society in the UK to protect the breed integrity of the iconic Aberdeen-Angus brand.
Angus cattle image via Shutterstock
