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Applied DNA Sciences Uses DNA Authentication to Safeguard Premium Wine Against Counterfeiting and Fraud
| Source: Applied DNA Sciences, Inc.
STONY BROOK, NY--(Marketwire - May 28, 2009) - Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (OTCBB : APDN ), a
provider of DNA-based security solutions, announced today that it is using
its patented and proprietary DNA authentication to help premium wine
producers in their fight against fraud and counterfeiting. With counterfeit
wines estimated to account for as much as five percent of the secondary
market (Wine Spectator 2009), vintners need new technologies that allow
them to easily validate the authenticity of their products. Along with
more traditional chemical assays, DNA authentication is increasingly being
accepted as a method to verify the authenticity of wine.
Wine fraud typically takes the form of counterfeit labels. Some producers
attempt to reduce fraud by marking future vintage bottles with engraved
serialized numbers, however, the counterfeiters have still been able to
defraud older vintages and taint genuine products with poorer substitutes.
APDN has now completed a number of feasibility studies involving the
application of complex botanical SigNature DNA® markers onto premium
wines. The host for the DNA marker may be the label, the cork, or the
bottle itself. These markers can be instantly screened using handheld
readers, while the identity of the bottle may be proved forensically by DNA
analyses. The DNA markers produced by APDN are unique, non-replicable and
have false positive rates of less than one in a trillion. This enables
producers to effectively implement a protection strategy that assures the
long term security of their products and brands.
Another common method of wine fraud is the practice of blending inexpensive
wine with more expensive wine or other materials and selling it at the
higher price. APDN has developed methods to help counteract these
activities, by allowing vintners to verify the contents of the wine by the
genetic provenance or "BioMaterial Genotype" of a specific grape cultivar.
Both methodologies can help the brand owner or vintner definitively verify
both the internal and external contents of the wine, offering a complete
system for authentication.
For centuries, most wineries made little effort to ensure their wines could
not be faked. Wine fraud and counterfeiting has grown large enough that the
FBI's art fraud squad is investigating. A spate of highly publicized
incidents recently brought this crisis to public attention. In 1998,
bottles of 1990 Penfold's Grange were revealed to be counterfeit,
exhibiting typographical errors and inconsistent printing. Approximately
16,000 bottles of Sassicaia, retailed at $100 to $125 a bottle, were
identified as fake and seized in Italy in 2000. Perhaps the most renowned
and shocking counterfeiting scandal came to light in 2007, when a lawsuit
brought by billionaire wine collector William Koch sparked a widespread
federal investigation of several notable auction houses, wine collectors,
and importers.
But now, concerned that customers will lose confidence and stop buying,
wineries from Napa Valley, Long Island, Bordeaux, Tuscany and even the
Barossa Valley in Australia, are exploring ways to make sure future bottles
and their contents can be authenticated.
"Consumer confidence is eroded each time a story about fake goods is
published. More and more, brand owners are recognizing that counterfeiting
is a worldwide problem that needs to be immediately addressed by every
business, in every market. DNA can help wineries protect their products and
assure their customers of the authenticity of their high value investments
without affecting the character of the finished product," stated Dr. James
Hayward, CEO of APDN.
About APDN
APDN sells patented DNA security solutions to protect products, brands and
intellectual property from counterfeiting and diversion. SigNature DNA is a
botanical mark used to authenticate products in a unique manner that
essentially cannot be copied. APDN also provides BioMaterial GenoTyping™
by detecting genomic DNA in natural materials to authenticate finished
products. Both technologies protect brands and products in a wide range of
industries and provide a forensic chain of evidence that can be used to
prosecute perpetrators. To learn more, go to (www.adnas.com).
The statements made by APDN may be forward-looking in nature and are made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements describe APDN's future
plans, projections, strategies and expectations, and are based on
assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which
are beyond the control of APDN. Actual results could differ materially from
those projected due to our short operating history, limited financial
resources, limited market acceptance, market competition and various other
factors detailed from time to time in APDN's SEC reports and filings,
including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed on December 16, 2008 and
our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. APDN undertakes no
obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new
information, events or circumstances after the date hereof to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events.