Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
July 17, 2010
BioServe Biotechnologies (I) Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of BioServe US, and a leading provider of genomic solutions and services to the Biotech industry, announced today that the National Board of Testing and Calibration of Laboratories (NABL) have accredited the Company for detection of genetically modified materials in raw and processed foods and agri products. The Company's Food Safety Testing lab in Hyderabad is already NABL approved since January 2009 for analysis of food pathogens, and with this audit, the scope has been increased to cover GMO testing as well. Both GMO and Pathogen testing are performed in accordance with international ISO/IEC-17025:2005 standards.
"We are pleased to receive NABL accreditation for all of our GMO and food pathogen tests," said Joe Thomas, MD of BioServe Biotechnologies (I) Pvt. Ltd. "The NABL accreditation provides our customers with trustworthy third party assurance of the precision and reliability of our testing." BioServe's DNA-based technology detects the presence of any and all commercialized GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) to a 0.1% limit of detection of the substance tested. "The need for precise, DNA-based GMO testing is on the rise because of the newer European Union regulations on traceability and labeling of GMOs in food, and because of increasing consumer demand for reliable information about GMOs in food," Mr. Thomas said.
The EU which is at the forefront of GMO legislation due to the high consumer awareness and opposition to genetically modified foods, have labeling laws which require that customers must be informed if 0.9% of a food or food product contains approved GMO's. Food producers want reliable, accurate GMO test to ensure that food products are in compliance with these new laws. BioServe will be one of few GMO testing laboratories in India offering a wide scope of GMO testing to cater to the needs of manufacturers and exporters of food and food ingredients to markets such as EU.
GM crops are going to be increasingly important in Developing countries like India as it would make food production more reliable with fewer inputs and less wastage due to pests and infestations. To address concerns such as traceability of GMO's at any time from farm to fork it is likely the Indian Govt. will set up regulatory mechanisms requiring GMO testing starting from field level right thru to processing, manufacturing and labeling. Further, given the increasing strictures worldwide on GMO imports, India is busy positioning itself as the largest exporter of non-GMO foods, something that definitely would require a key role for GMO testing. BioServe intends to take a leading role in providing these services as they emerge, Mr Thomas added
Food Safety Testing is a part of the larger canvas of Molecular Testing where DNA based technologies are used for highly accurate, specific and fast testing of pathogens and genetic events. While BioServe's initial suites of tests cover GMO testing, the Company is in advanced stages of developing a range of DNA-based tests for pathogen detection in Foods and in Healthcare Diagnostics.
BioServe provides pharmaceutical, biotechnology, clinical & academic research markets with a comprehensive suite of genomic research services that enable biomedical researchers to correlate clinical data with molecular data, for development of improved treatments and diagnostics. BioServe has headquarters in Beltsville, MD, USA and Hyderabad, India.
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