MIT spinout seeks to transform food safety testing
“This is a $10 billion market and everyone knows it.” Those are the words of Chris Hartshorn, CEO of a new MIT spinout — Xibus Systems — that is aiming to make a splash in the food industry with their new food safety sensor. Hartshorn has considerable experience supporting innovation in agriculture and food technology. Prior to joining Xibus, he served as chief technology officer for Callaghan Innovation, a New Zealand government agency. A large portion of the country’s economy relies upon agriculture and food, so a significant portion of the innovation activity there is focused on those sectors. While there, Hartshorn came in contact with a number of different food safety sensing technologies that were already on the market, aiming to meet the needs of New Zealand producers and others around the globe. Yet, “every time there was a pathogen-based food recall” he says, “it shone a light on the fact that this problem has...