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SafeTraces raises $10M in equity financing (Invisible, edible, flavorless bar codes)

PLEASANTON, Calif., Oct. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SafeTraces, Inc. announced today that it closed a $10 million equity financing round. The round was led by S2G Ventures (Seed to Growth), a leading multi-stage investment firm focused on the food and agriculture industry, and Bunge Ventures, the venture capital arm of Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) ("Bunge"), a leading global agribusiness and food company. Other participants in the round included UL Ventures as well as Spero Ventures.

"We are excited to close this round with the support of such an outstanding group of investors," said Anthony Zografos, Founder and CEO. "The growing demand for our suite of food safety solutions provides both validation and direction for our future growth."

The company intends to use the proceeds from this round to scale the deployment of its solutions platform, sales, and marketing. SafeTraces plans to launch its second food safety solution, SaniTracers™, by the end of this month.

"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."

"Traceability of food and feed ingredients is an increasingly important issue for participants all along the value chain," said Nanda Kumar Puthucode, Managing Director, Bunge Ventures. "The digital DNA bar code technology of SafeTraces provides source transparency at the physical product level, helping strengthen value chain integrity."

"The SafeTraces technology can be used to help ensure sustainable sourcing, protect brands from adulteration and fraud, and facilitate rapid resolution of food borne illness outbreaks," added Simin Zhou, VP & Managing Director of UL Ventures. "The technology has broad applicability to commodities ranging from fresh produce and grains to oils and fibers."

The SafeTraces suite of on-food safety solutions uses FDA approved, food grade DNA technology to provide complete on-food traceability and sanitation verification. SafeTracers™ - invisible, edible, flavorless, digital DNA barcodes - are applied directly on or with food, enabling producers, processors and distributors to trace the food, not the just packaging.  Coupled with a blockchain or centralized code registry system, SafeTracers™ establish an unbreakable, scalable, cost-effective link with the physical object. SafeTracers™ are read anywhere in minutes, providing an immutable, invisible way to protect product against adulteration, fraud, and intentional substitution. 

SaniTracers™ are food-grade pathogen surrogates that are used in food processing and plant and equipment sanitation to verify that sanitation was performed as planned. SaniTracers™ deliver results on-site and in minutes, enabling processors to improve food safety and reduce foodborne illness and inventory costs.

About SafeTraces
SafeTraces provides the only on-food safety solutions that protect producers, processors, and consumers. We are committed to providing complete low-cost solutions that deliver results in minutes. Our traceability solutions enable customers to gain full transparency into origin, protect their brand, and reduce processing and recall costs. Our sanitation verification solutions provide insight into the effectiveness of sanitation on-site and in minutes.

SafeTraces was founded in 2015 and has grown into an expert team of entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers dedicated to improving the food safety industry. SafeTraces' technology is patent-protected.

Learn more about SafeTraces at www.safetraces.com

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