IdentiGEN Builds Executive Management Team

LAWRENCE, Kan., U.S., and DUBLIN, Ireland, Oct. 11, 2007. IdentiGEN, a leading global provider of DNA-based identification and verification solutions to enhance food safety and build consumer confidence in the food and agriculture industries, has added to its executive team with the hiring of Tim Riemenschneider as Vice President of North American Sales and John Heffernan as Group Financial Controller.

“We have strengthened the commercial and financial management areas of the company with the addition of Tim and John. We anticipate bringing on additional technical and administrative personnel during the coming months, and expect to eventually employ 200 people here in North America,” said IdentiGEN North America President and CEO Donald R. Marvin.

With more than 20 years in sales, marketing and management of branded and private label consumer packaged goods for such companies as Chiquita Processed Foods and Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, Riemenschneider will lead outreach efforts to food retailers, meat producers and processors for IdentiGEN’s North American expansion.

Heffernan joins IdentiGEN with more than 22 years experience in finance management in the U.S. and Asia for Solar Turbines Inc., a subsidiary of Caterpillar, Inc., Bio-Medical Research Ltd. of Ireland and Intertek’s Inchcape Testing Service UK Ltd.

To demonstrate its commitment to the U.S. market, IdentiGEN recently opened offices and a high-technology laboratory in Lawrence, Kan., as its North American headquarters and laboratory for DNA analysis related to its proprietary meat identification and traceability system, called DNA TraceBack®.

Since IdentiGEN’s foundation in 1996 by a group of geneticists from Ireland’s Trinity College, IdentiGEN’s DNA TraceBack has been adopted by major grocery retailers as a traceability system for fresh beef and pork. In addition to verifying country of origin, DNA TraceBack validates marketing claims and product attributes, such as “natural”, “organic” and “kosher”, and breed, such as Angus. As a major competitive positioning tool for retailers, DNA TraceBack can also be used as a risk management program for seamless and fast traceability of a product in the event of a product recall.

It utilizes DNA identification technology similar to the use of DNA for high-tech forensic investigations in humans. The DNA TraceBack system is practical and cost-effective, requiring few changes in current fresh beef and pork handling or processing procedures.