By Tea Jankovic, Checkbiotech

Biolytix AG is company dealing with molecular and microbiological analyses based in Witterswil (12 km from the city of Basel in Swizterland). They test meat for salmonella or other pathogens, examine finished food products for traces of nuts or other allergens, genotype seed stocks to see if they are pure-bred or not and they test if food products, or the ingredients thereof, have been genetically modified.

Their international clientele consists mostly of food import and export companies, retailers, producers of food and fodder, pharmaceutical companies, but the Biolytix people also help nearby villages who want to test their drinking water, as well as and restaurants who want to check up on the hygienic conditions in their kitchens. Biolytix has met the high international standards for a laboratory and is therefore ISO/IEC 17025 accredited.

Checkbiotech was given the opportunity to talk to Michèle Stoeckli and Adrian Haerri (CEO) at the Technology Centre in Witterswil, Switzerland where Biolytix is located. Haerri was one of the founders of this small, independently financed company. It all started when a group of friends got together with the idea of starting a service laboratory.

In 1998 they bought a machine that would enable them to implement the new Polymerase Chain Reaction - Real-time PCR technology (heating up genetic material so that the DNA splits and therefore multiplies, the process has been very time costly since the scientist needed to wait a couple of days in order to be able to read the results indicated by the change in a special gel).

“In contrast to traditional PCR technology, Real Time is, just as its name implies, very fast,” Haerri explains.

The business plan was written in January 1998 and Biolytix was born shortly thereafter, in June 1998. At first, their work consisted mostly of genotyping corn, but in 1999 the new regulations came out pertaining to GMO quantification, requiring that food items be labelled if they contained more than 1% of genetically engineered ingredients.

Recognizing a good opportunity, Biolytix quickly positioned itself as a company for GMO testing, which took up 80% of their total work (today it takes up only 40%). At the time, Biolytix was one of the first companies in Switzerland dealing with quantitative GMO analyses.

That they were among the first to recognize the new market niche created by these regulations was not an accident, since the team behind the name Biolytix takes pride in always trying to be on the edge.

Haerri explained his company policy further by noting, “Whenever a new variation of a genetic modification appears, we strive to develop a testing procedure for it within two weeks by means of networking with other professionals in this field. Therefore, one of our strengths is not only figuring out the amount of GMOs in a certain product, but also what kind.”

Stoeckli added, “Being small has its advantages. We are able to react fast to the market demands, as well as finishing the orders for tests within one or two days–sometimes even in a couple of hours. Small is flexible.”

“Another thing is that we are able to maintain a very client-oriented climate in business, offering consulting services free of charge, unless it’s a major issue and putting a lot of stress on strong communication with clients.”

Adding to that, Haerri explained, “I value these advantages, and that’s why I don’t necessarily want to push for Biolytix to develop into a major player among big biotech companies. Of course, I wouldn’t turn down a generous check from some well-meaning sponsor, if somebody offered me one. But, the general goal for the company is a modest yearly growth of 10%.”

Other goals for the year 2005 include looking for new fields of work, acquiring new clients from the ranks of pharmaceutical companies and staying on the cutting edge of the business with GMO testing, which requires Biolytixs to always be ready to detect new varieties.

In February 2005, new Swiss laws concerning GMOs came into power, matching those of the European Union. From now on, Swiss food companies will have to label their products that contain more than 0.9% of transgenic ingredients. Even food products obtained from genetically enhanced organisms, such as many wines, oils and cheeses, will have to be labelled under the new Swiss laws.

Another change is that ingredients that are used to produce a food item have to be tested before they are used, because once the products are processed and heated up, the proteins and the DNA are partly destroyed, thus the testing of the final product might not yield result.

“This doesn’t mean more business for companies like Biolytix,” as Stoeckli explained, “Just a change of clientele. Now we receive more requests from traders of raw food materials, for instance, samples of soybeans from Brazil that are tested on a weekly basis. This replaces the requests from companies dealing with finished food products, because they trust that the ingredients have been competently tested beforehand.”

Another market change is the growing demand for qualitative analyses—testing done to determine whether a product contains a certain variety of genetically modified ingredient which has been prohibited in Switzerland. “This is particularly lucrative because Switzerland allows only three varieties, as opposed to EU, which allows seven,” Haerri said.

When asked about his opinion on the subject of GMOs, Haerri paused slightly, and replied that while his company of course remains neutral, “What kind of an answer can one expect from me? I am a scientist. I would personally give genetically modified food to my dog or to my family.”

These new regulations are an answer to the general public’s mistrust against anything done in a laboratory. COOP ( a leading supermarket in Switzerland ) polls shothat only 16% of consumers are willing to buy genetically modified products now, as opposed to 25% in 1997.

“Growing a crop of corn, modified to be resistant against harmful insects, is of enormous advantage to the environment. It diminishes the use of pesticides, and can be beneficial to farmers in poor countries who cannot even afford pesticides. They lose everything if their crop dies, since they are not subsidized by their governments. The only plausible argument against the wide spread use of genetically modified plants or animals,” Haerri went on, “Is the fear that they might suppress the ‘natural’ species.”

The question is, how natural these species are to begin with. Using crossbreeding, farmers and scientists have created new breeds, and have achieved more robust corn plants, which are much more appetizing than their wild Mexican ancestor, teosinte. Changing species through genetic modification is not something fundamentally new—it is but a change in the method.

“Companies might have done something differently at the beginning of the ‘GMO revolution’ to counteract this public mistrust.” Haerri goes on to say, “A good thing would be coming up with a really good example of an existing positive use for this new technology. Like a banana containing penicillin, provided it really was developed. The first uses of this technology weren’t very commendable–creating so called Roundup Ready soybeans, which would stay put after Roundup herbicide had been applied to the fields, killing every plant except the wonderful new soybean breed.”

“One can almost hear the cries of outrage from the Greenpeace fraction. But, understandably, telling people about rice crops, modified to produce more vitamins and minerals that people in certain parts of the world lack–that would be a whole other story.”

Haerri said that the controversy surrounding GMOs doesn’t really affect his company that much. “We will always have something to do. Things like adapting to sudden changes in market demand and public opinion affect company policies, and are what makes life just a little more interesting.”

Tea Jankovic is a Science Writer for Check Biotech and a student at the University of Basel. You can contact her at: teica_j@hotmail.com