KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian innovation to detect pig DNA is set to make waves in the global halal industry.

The portable GeneStat device makes use of the HaFYS Porcine DNA Detection Assay system, developed by a team from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) to detect traces of porcine DNA in food samples.

The 8kg device eliminates the risk of sample contamination during transportation to a lab and shortens the analysis time from a few days to just under an hour.

"It was invented in 2011 and commercialised here last year, but now we have exclusively licensed it to an American company, DxNA LLC, to be marketed globally," said UPM's Halal Research Institute deputy director Prof Dr Shuhaimi Mustafa.

Dr Shuhaimi, along with the late Prof Datuk Dr Yaakob Che Man and a postgraduate student, developed the system, which is now being marketed in the Middle East and Europe.

A major plus point for the device is that it is a closed system, meaning it does not require DNA extraction from food samples.

"It does not even require a trained person to handle.

"All you need is to insert the food sample into the prepared tube, and insert the tube into the device and close it.

"About an hour later, the results will appear on a screen on the front of the device," he said.

Kaysha Kencana Sdn Bhd, which is the sole distributor of GeneStat in South-East Asia, is marketing the device at a competitive rate in the region.

Its business development director Shamsul Baharin Abdul Aziz said the company is also testing random food samples from supermarkets to ensure they are really halal.

"We are also working with manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies, as well as Islamic agencies to promote GeneStat," he said.