A state board in Texas has asked ANDE to halt its work there over concerns it was imperiling criminal cases, the Associated Press reports.
ANDE provides Rapid DNA machines, which were being used to help identify victims during the recent California wildfires and in a pilot program at the southern US border. There has also been a push to place these machines in police stations around the country so law enforcement officials can quickly determine whether a person being arrested already has a profile in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's CODIS database.
But as the AP reports, Texas has told ANDE to stop work there unless it is conducted at an accredited forensic lab. This, it says, comes after the firm conducted projects in conjunction with a Houston hospital and police, but did not inform local prosecutors who then had to "scramble" to provide needed evidence to defense teams.
ANDE spokesperson Annette Mattern tells the AP that law enforcement oversees the handling of evidence and there has been no criticism of their machines.
Other states have also criticized the firm, according to the AP. Utah, it says, will no longer use the machine to analyze evidence from sexual assaults due to the added technical expertise needed. Additionally, some Arizona lawmakers are uneasy with ANDE's involvement in draft legislation there promoting a statewide DNA database that would exclude its competitor.