October 18, 2018

S2G Ventures and Bunge Ventures, the venture capital arm of Bunge Limited, have led a $10 million equity financing round for SafeTraces, Inc. Also participating in the round were UL Ventures and Spero Ventures.

Founded in Pleasanton, California, in 2015, SafeTraces is the only provider of on-food safety solutions using FDA-approved, food grade DNA technology that enables complete traceability and sanitation verification. To accomplish this, the company employs SafeTracers™ – edible, flavorless, and invisible DNA barcodes that are applied directly on or with food items instead of food packaging.

Together with blockchain technology, or a centralized code registry system, an unbreakable, scalable, and cost-effective link is established with each item. This link allows producers, processors, and distributors to trace food in minutes for full transparency into its source, purity, and safety.   

“Given how complex the food system has become, it was expensive and nearly impossible for manufacturers and retailers to trace the source of their ingredients,” said Chuck Templeton, managing director, S2G Ventures. “Now with SafeTraces, they can trace a product, not only back to the grower, but to the lot or batch, giving them confidence they are getting what they ordered.”

Likewise, the company’s second food safety solution – SaniTracers™, which are scheduled to be launched by the end of this month, are food-grade pathogen surrogates that are used in food processing and facility and processing equipment sanitation that can verify that sanitation protocols have been completed as planned.

“The SafeTraces technology can be used to help ensure sustainable sourcing, protect brands from adulteration and fraud, and facilitate rapid resolution of foodborne illness outbreaks,” said Simin Zhou, vice president and managing director at UL Ventures. “The technology has broad applicability to commodities ranging from fresh produce and grains to oils and fibers.”

Edible Tech

Edible food-tech is a new frontier, and one that, when manifested in different ways, has the ability to completely revolutionize the entire supply chain from farm to fork.

In July of this year, Apeel Sciences announced an impressive  $70 million in new funding led by Viking Global Investors and including Andreessen Horowitz, Upfront Ventures, and S2G Ventures, among other unnamed participants.

Founded in 2012 in Santa Barbara, California, by James Rogers, a PhD graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Apeel Sciences’ technology works to reduce food waste before it begins.  

Across the U.S. market alone, the retail sector generates eight million tons of waste per year through distribution centers and stores, representing a loss of $18 billion. In addition, U.S. households throw away more than 400 pounds of food per person per year, losing an average household of four $1,800 annually, according to Apeel.

To combat these numbers, the company has developed a method for extracting molecules from organic agricultural waste and byproducts – such as grape skins that remain after wine production processing, or banana peels, leaves, or stems left over after harvesting – to create undetectable edible barriers derived from natural plant extracts. These barriers significantly slow the process of decay of fresh produce, making each piece of fruit its own microclimate and extending shelf life without refrigeration, a controlled atmosphere, or preservatives.

Although differing in their approach, both SafeTraces and Apeel are working to raise the bar for the safety and integrity of the food supply chain. And with this new funding, SafeTraces plans to scale up the deployment of its solution platform, and to strengthen its sales and marketing activities.

~ Lynda Kiernan