Northern Ireland firm developing 'an immensely disruptive technology to aid in the fight against food fraud'

Northern Ireland firm Bia Analytical Ltd has signed an agreement with trinamiX GmbH to develop new technology to detect food fraud in the agri-food chain.

A leading UK food authentication testing laboratory, the Belfast-based company aims to take testing out of the lab and provide customers with a rapid, portable authenticity result, which they said will be ‘a huge step forward in our ongoing fight against food fraud’.

Bia Analytical develops methods using chemometric modelling and artificial intelligence (AI) applications to help reduce food business’ exposure to the risk of food fraud. These methods are becoming the preferred way to detect economically motivated adulteration, or food fraud.

German firm, trinamiX GmbH works closely with partners from different fields to introduce immediate material analysis for enhanced decision making across various industries.

Christian Nitschke, director, IR Sensing & Spectroscopy Solutions Business at trinamiX, explained: “We are thrilled to team up with Bia Analytical to unleash the full potential of mobile NIR spectroscopy in yet another exciting industry. Our partnership is a great example of how our leading handheld NIR technology and software ecosystem are paired with extensive industry know-how and market access to create a true impact.”

Combining both Bia Analytical and trinamiX core competencies to develop an innovative solution, will allow clients to test ingredients and receive immediate results, enabling real-time key decision making. As easy as pushing a button, users carry out tests with a handheld device that is connected to an intuitive app for fast results. This authenticity testing solution will be especially useful in detecting food fraud at the point of sampling.

Dr Terry McGrath, chief technical officer, added: “I am very excited about this partnership, I have worked in the area of food authenticity for many years and see this as a huge step forward in our ongoing fight against food fraud. Together with our shared expertise, we are moving food authenticity testing out of the laboratory into the supply chain, allowing faster decisions to be made in real-time.”

Currently Bia Analytical are digitising their portfolio of lab-based herbs and spices authenticity methods to work on the trinamiX portable platform. This fusion of know-how will soon become an immensely disruptive technology to aid in the fight against food fraud.