Headquartered in Singapore, Double Helix Tracking Technologies specialise in using DNA testing of timber to verify its origins. Billed as a “CSI for the wood industry,” Double Helix’s Timber Tracking service involves sampling the wood at the time of harvest and then again further down the process to reconfirm the chain of custody. If there is a mismatch, it alerts the buyer against illegal or inauthentic timber in their supply chain.
DNA testing is now commonplace in human biology and other domains. In recent years it has become far less cumbersome and efficient, making it commercially viable and cost effective on a large scale, and available for use in industries such as timber.
