Dive Brief:
- Food testing startup Invisible Sentinel has created Veriflow, a patented handheld technology that tests for the DNA of micro-organisms like E. coli, salmonella, and listeria quickly and at a relatively lower cost, the company says.
- Such a technology could be a cost-cutting solution for major manufacturers, which can spend upwards of tens of thousands of dollars on in-house testing by specially trained lab technicians or microbiologists.
- Invisible Sentinel's moneymaker is its proprietary test kits at $10 apiece, which is above the industry standard of $4 to $8, but the company said its equipment costs, at around $5,000, is lower than those charged by its competitors.
Dive Insight:
Invisible Sentinel is another example of a disruptive startup with potential for a noticeable impact on the industry. The company's sales have surged from $30,000 in 2013, its debut year, to more than $4 million in 2015. It projects sales to be $30 million in 2018 and $60 million in 2020 and expects to become profitable in 2016, CEO and co-founder Nicholas Siciliano told The New York Times.
The company's test method does have its drawbacks. It cannot perform sophisticated multiplex testing to detect multiple organisms in the same sample, and many customers still have to submit products to third-party labs, as retailers require.
As FSMA requirements have gone into effect, which include requiring companies to be more proactive about preventing safety mishaps, food testing is a growing industry. Two billion tests to detect pathogens and spoilage organisms are performed each year across the world, with a CAGR of about 5%, Thomas R. Weschler, founder of Strategic Consulting Inc., told The New York Times.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice declared a crackdown on punishments for food safety infractions last year. The agency has recently launched its investigation of Blue Bell, which has been gradually bringing its products back to market after being linked to a listeria outbreak, which led to a full product recall, last year.