Securing the food supply is the explicit goal of the joint venture between Endress+Hauser and Hahn-Schickard. To this end the two partners have now founded the company Endress+Hauser BioSense GmbH. Its aim is to make rapid on-site molecular analyses possible, which can be used, for example, to analyze bacterial or viral contamination in water and beverages, genetic changes in food or the contamination of milk.

In close cooperation with the University of Freiburg, Hahn-Schickard has been researching rapid diagnostic methods for many years, for example to detect minute quantities of infectious pathogens on site using mobile devices. One outstanding example was a rapid PCR test for SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of Covid-19, which was launched last year by the joint spin-off company Spindiag. The aim of the new joint venture between Hahn-Schickard and Endress+Hauser is now to transfer this technology from medical diagnostics to the application areas of industrial process and laboratory automation.