NCI Market Update Webinar Series: Special Edition | Featuring David Singer

David Singer, Co-Founder & VP of Business Development at Index Biosystems

The Northern Crops Institute (NCI) hosted another monthly Market Update on November 2nd, 2022. This month’s Special Edition webinar featured speaker David Singer, Co-Founder & VP of Business Development at Index Biosystems. He presented on “Encoding Commodities with Carbon Traceability Data” during the webinar.

Singer started by discussing the sustainability aspects that consumers these days demand from their products. They seek out products that are made with sustainability in mind, and this trend shows no sign of declining. This trend has also convinced farmers to put additional care into their crops in order to adhere to these new sustainability “requirements.” With this all being said, there remains a problem that hinders the ability of the market to trend fully towards this reality: high-volume infrastructure elements aren’t designed for traceability. In other words, it’s difficult to provide verifiable data to producers and customers that are working towards achieving these sustainability goals.

Enter Index Biosystems’ BioTags, a solution which serves the purpose of securely linking data to physical products. And, therefore, establishing trust between producers and customers. As products move throughout supply chains, information that would typically be lost is preserved and successfully transferred between both parties. Singer illustrated this idea by using the following example:

Imagine taking a sample from an aggregated shipment. Using BioTags, customers are able to identify which farms each individual grain originated from and also their relative percent composition of that aggregated shipment.  

He furthered this example by also stating that BioTags are capable of identifying traits such as the percentage of flour contributed by each farm that makes up a single slice of bread. And, additionally, the carbon footprint associated with each farm’s practices.

BioTags bonded to the surface of grains.

These represent only a small fraction of the capabilities BioTags offer to users. However, the question remains: what are these BioTags, and how do they work? Simply put, these BioTags are microscopic barcodes made from inactive baker’s yeast. They can be applied to both bulk and commodity products, and are used to store information specifically for that individual grain of product. The information they store can then be used to verify the information stored in paper and digital records. BioTags are both FDA and Health Canada authorized for use, and require no genetic modification of the product in order to be created and installed.

BioTags are created using a unique process designed for scalability and customizability. First, using a patent-pending “Inert Bioengineering” process, the BioTag sequences are created and stored in Trailhead (Index Biosystems’ online storage registry). From there, they’re mixed into a spray to be dispersed onto the product or are applied directly to them, depending on customer preference. Detection reports (which can show detection well below the ppm level) from the BioTags are then stored in Trailhead, and are accessible at any time.

Singer also explained that BioTags have recently seen real-world action in trial runs that Index Biosystems has conducted. One of the more recent examples of this involved an 18-ton load of oats. This load was successfully BioTagged using a specialized auger at the farm to apply the BioTag solution, and samples were taken at both the farm and grain elevator. These samples were then shipped to Index Biosystems for comparison against each other. The results showed that reliable detection was achieved across both samples of oats, even once they were combined with un-BioTagged samples inside a railcar.

In addition, a separate trial run was conducted in which wheat was BioTagged after being harvested. Once again, samples were taken from two different locations of the wheat, with one being in milled flour and the other in a loaf of bread made from the wheat. In both cases, the BioTag was detected, making it possible to locate their origin and successfully verify the digital records that the producer had onsite.

In both cases, these trials proved that products can successfully be tracked from their origin, through their respective supply chains, and through to their final destination. And, they can also be used to authenticate claims of sustainable practices put forth by manufacturers. These authenticated claims can be shared with four different groups: 1) regulators (to ensure compliance with sustainability laws); 2) investors (to meet ESG requirements); 3) customers (to produce value-added products); and 4) consumers (to build brand loyalty). These all represent four different groups and four different benefits, but those that are one under the viability of BioTags.

BioTag: Creating the world’s most cared for grain supply.

We at the Northern Crops Institute greatly appreciate David Singer’s involvement and input in our webinar. At NCI, we continue to work towards fulfilling our mission of supporting regional agriculture and value-added processing by conducting educational and technical programs that expand and maintain domestic and international markets for northern grown crops. All of this wouldn’t be possible without the innovative ideas of guest speakers like Singer.

For more information about future webinars offered at NCI, click here.

To watch the recording, click the video below.