Newcastle-based food-testing company, Geneius, has joined only a handful of accredited companies across Europe with the news that it has gained approval from UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) for the application of its revolutionary rapID® DNA-based approach to routine microbial testing and food analysis.

The award of UKAS accreditation means that the company, based at Newcastle University, becomes part of an elite group which can offer invaluable DNA-based 'fingerprinting' approaches to testing for the food industry.

Geneius managing director, Jerry Barnes said: “This is really exciting news for the company. The award of UKAS accreditation for our unique testing approaches shows that we have developed, documented and implemented a comprehensive and robust set of operating procedures, which comply with the stringent UKAS standards preferred by all major suppliers to the principle supermarkets.

“The approaches adopted by traditional testing services have not changed in almost a century, and their inadequacy is evident in much-publicised outbreaks of food poisoning. Geneius rapID® ensures precise identification of contaminants, such as Listeria and Salmonella, in a fraction of the time taken by traditional service providers - allowing clients to release products to market faster and with greater confidence than ever before.”
The company is now well positioned to grow the business beyond its North East roots and is at the early stages of realising its ambition to extend operations both in the UK and overseas via satellite laboratories.

“We are now poised to develop the business and increase our market share. We are already undertaking work for a number of major brands and many others are scheduled to come on board in the first half of this year. These companies appreciate the competitive edge the Geneius rapID® testing service gives them.”

One of the brands the company already works with is Innocent Drinks, its head of fruit, Sam Simister said: “Since meeting the team at Geneius two years ago, our plan has been to explore potential benefits from using this cutting edge technology. Through DNA fingerprinting we now have a faster and more accurate way in which to screen and understand our fruits. Identifying the bad bugs that can cause us a problem gives us growing confidence in the consistency of our drinks.

“ We are very excited about this technology. The team at Geneius are professional and more importantly, they think commercially and provide us with a technique that helps us to manage the business more effectively and efficiently.”