San Francisco Bay Area based food safety solutions firm SafeTraces has raised funds worth $1.5m in a series seed round led by Maumee Ventures, the venture capital arm of The Andersons.
The company plans to use the funds to speed up product development, sales, and marketing.
It plans to launch its first food safety solution by the end of 2016.
SafeTraces founder and CEO Anthony Zografos said: “We see this as strong validation of an immediate market need for our cutting-edge food safety solutions."
The on-food safety solutions offered by the company use invisible, edible, tasteless DNA barcodes that are applied directly to the food and not the cardboard.
SafeTraces Board Member and CEO of Shopwell Labs Elliott Grant said: “Assuring customers of origin, purity, and safety are essential in today's food industry. SafeTraces' DNA-based approach is elegant and compelling, because it doesn't force the food industry to add costly steps to their processes.
“Their solutions are perfectly timed to help growers, shippers, and manufacturers meet rising consumer expectations and the tougher regulatory environment.”
SafeTraces is currently engaged with several national and global pilot customers that are actively using its barcode solution in production.
The companies deploy the solution for tracing produce back to its origin, ensuring that raw materials are sustainably sourced, verifying the purity of olive oil and improving the safety of leafy greens and other fresh produce.
SafeTraces said in a statement: “These customers intend to use SafeTracers to ensure the traceability of their products, reduce foodborne illnesses, minimize food-processing costs, and increase food safety.
