Stony Brook, New York, USA
June 16, 2015
Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: APDN) (Twitter: @APDN), a provider of DNA-based anti-counterfeiting technology, supply chain and product authentication solutions, has signed an agreement with Louis Dreyfus Commodities, one of the world’s largest cotton merchandisers, to provide secure logistic supply chain support for the tagging and authentication of cotton fibers with SigNature® T DNA derived from botanical genomes.
Rodger Glaspey, Head of Western US operations for cotton at Louis Dreyfus Commodities, stated, “This unique partnership within the supply chain will help ensure that the consumer gets exactly what the label says: the finest cotton grown in the world today, 100% Pima Cotton grown in America.”
Using APDN’s patented SigNature T DNA technology, cotton fibers can be DNA-tagged at the source or country of origin, allowing purity of content verification at all stages of the supply chain. Bulk quantities of last year’s Pima harvest have already been processed using this method and are currently being verified throughout the supply chain, from the ginner, to the spinner and ultimately to the manufacturer. This year’s SigNature T tagging will begin at the start of the ginning season, at various locations in the United States.
Louis Dreyfus Commodities will collect the DNA-marking fees from its customers and pay them to APDN. It will also pay APDN to install their unique, patent-pending “DNA Application Systems” at each new gin, typically capable of DNA marking up to 50 million pounds of cotton per season. The DNA Application System measures the botanical DNA so that a constant level of DNA marking per pound of cotton is provided at extraordinarily low levels.
Dr. James A. Hayward, President and CEO of Applied DNA Sciences, commented: “We successfully installed SigNature T DNA Application systems here in the US, and will continue to implement them at other locations. The ‘traceability’ factor is the most compelling benefit that we offer because if it’s DNA-tagged we can tell you exactly where, when, by whom and how it was tagged.”
In tandem with DNA tagging, APDN will license its “On-Site™” DNA authentication technology to provide real time testing of raw cotton fiber and greige goods, yielding an end-to-end supply chain solution to guarantee quality and support product claims. The licenses will be offered to supply chain members at every point at which the DNA-marked cotton changes hands.
Facilitated by Louis Dreyfus Commodities, APDN and their recently announced partnership with Divatex Home Fashions, the SigNature T DNA tagged cotton fibers will provide customers with the ultimate end-to-end traceable solution.
Brand owners and retailers who comply with SigNature T marking and authentication for Pima cotton will be offered use of the “PimaCott™ Content Brand”, co-licensed by Divatex and APDN.
“Consumer interest in product traceability is growing rapidly. The ‘farm to table’ movement is a testament to the success that comes from being able to verify products at their source. Consumers of textiles and apparel support the philosophy because they are buying products that can help the local community, and know that the product is 100% pure. That is the power of PimaCott – it’s about paying it forward from the grower directly to the consumer. Everyone wins because, for the first time, there is a real solution to verify quality and authenticity,” said David Greenstein, CEO of Divatex.
The partners have already lined up their first customers and secured demand for over 20 million pounds of DNA-marked Pima cotton from multiple customers for the coming cotton-ginning season (September to January).
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