Campden BRI case study

A long–term association between Campden BRI and Agilent Technologies on DNA and protein analysis has brought significant practical benefits to industry, Government and both Agilent and Campden BRI. Its current applications range from cereal variety testing and screening foods for GMO–containing material, to species testing of fish and meat (including exotic meats and bush meat), and verifying the identity of Basmati rice and other plant species (e.g. fruit, cereals & potatoes).

Ronda Allen of Agilent comments: "We could see that the Lab–on–a–Chip system had significant potential for food analysis. Following its development in 2001, we were eager to explore potential applications. We wanted to work with an independent partner that had the scientific and technical skills in the area of protein analysis, the understanding of the key issues surrounding food and drink technology, and the credibility with industry to encourage them to exploit potential applications."

At Campden BRI, we were equally keen to put the instrument through its paces to see what it had to offer the food and drinks industry. As well as working with Agilent on the systems application for DNA–based tests we began to explore its potential for wheat protein characterisation. Following this, nabim funded the development of a rapid protocol for varietal identification of wheat based on total protein profiling.

A number of leading UK milling companies subsequently bought and used the Bioanalyzer system for screening wheat for identification purposes, based on our protocol, and in a separate development we produced a LabChip Wheat Library for nabim featuring UK, French, German and Canadian commercial varieties. An Application Note for automated wheat varietal identification was then released.

Our protocol has now been adopted by organisations in other countries, including Teagasc (Ireland), the Canadian Grain Commission and the US Department of Agriculture, and we are now using our expertise in the brewing sector to develop a method for the analysis and varietal identification of barley and malt material.

Contact: Support Team
+44(0)1386 842291
support@campdenbri.co.uk