The idea started in Israel, where animal theft has become a major concern. Hundreds of beef cows worth $2,000 a head are being stolen a year, and in most cases smuggled across the green line to the Palestinian Authority. Slaughtered immediately, with no visible trace in sight, Bactochem was asked to find a way to track and trace these animals using the "CSI" style methods the company specializes in.

Bactochem, which operates in Israel in the area of environmental quality and food health and safety, decided to create some innovation of its own. It developed a novel method using cow DNA and software, which can determine and track with a small genetic sample, such as a hair from the back of the animal, where a cow was born, bred and - if it comes to it - slaughtered.