Tate & Lyle Ventures backs food-safety diagnostics company

Tate & Lyle has invested in Cambridge University spin-out Lumora, a company that has a DNA-based test to detect and quantify food-borne pathogens within a couple of hours.

As its first investment, Tate & Lyle Ventures says the injection of funds will allow Lumora to produce its next generation prototypes and install them within a range of food-sector companies.

The new technology is derived from research on healthcare diagnostics. It uses a version of the luciferase gene that enables fireflies to glow in the dark.