AsureQuality and Ubiquitome have agreed to collaborate on trialling mobile molecular testing for applications in food and primary production sectors.

The collaboration will leverage Ubiquitome’s hand-held, battery powered real-time PCR device, the Freedom4.

AsureQuality provides quality assurance from the farm to the supermarket shelf for producers, processors and competent authorities worldwide. This includes involvement in animal disease control, pest management and surveillance programmes.

AsureQuality CEO John McKay said: "At AsureQuality, we operate across a broad range of market sectors and we see a number of opportunities where the ability to deliver accurate, sensitive and timely diagnostic information can add value to our customers."

Ubiquitome CEO Paul Pickering said: "The Freedom4 has seen a wide variety of applications, including food safety testing and pathogen identification.

"We are delighted to enter into a collaboration with AsureQuality based around the mobile molecular testing capabilities of the Freedom4.

"Timely and accurate diagnostic information is becoming increasingly important in our globalised economy.

"Our partnership opens up multiple avenues to unlock customer value and realise the potential of ubiquitous genomic information."