Protecting the integrity of the poultry supply chain

Connecting the proven measurement capabilities of spectroscopy with advanced machine learning to address the demand for food supply chain safety and authenticity

THE CHALLENGE

We believed spectroscopy and miniaturized sensors could help address quality challenges in their supply chain, but we needed to find a backer and choose an appropriate first use case to prove our hypothesis.

OUR SOLUTION

We approached a European food producer and retailer, knowing they had a broad mandate to innovate in the area of food quality and safety. We presented them with a business opportunity that would allow their suppliers to measure, monitor, and address predefined quality, safety, and authenticity challenges within their supply chain. With their 1M EUR investment, we:

• Built a viable, value-based business plan

• Built the right team of scientists, data engineers, and developers

• Designed and prototyped a proof of concept

• Explored compatibility with commercially available sensors

For our proof of concept, we chose to measure the water content in chicken–a significant adulteration problem with high economic stakes and a technically feasible solution thanks to spectroscopy.  We partnered with the University of Leuven and Imec (a leading innovator in nanoelectronics and digital technology) to complete a prototype and create a full business plan for Xpectrum, a software venture backed by the European food producer and retailer.

THE OUTCOME

The pilot for the poultry supply chain  was successful, and since then the sensor and software have been expanded to meat and spices supply chain as well. Xpectrum’s commercial growth will result in continued added value through data and model validation.