References

Biocontrol Consultants has worked together with a number of companies in the field of Food Diagnostics, Food Hygiene and Food Safety.

Recent activities

Senior Expert Food Safety and Hygiene with PUM

PUM (See www.pum.nl) is a Dutch organization of Senior Experts.
Expertise has been applied to projects in Surabaya Indonesia (2012 and 2013) and in Choibalsa, Mongolia (2013)

Consultant Microbial Detection with MOCON

Mocon (See www.microbialdetection.com) is worldwide marketleader in permeation testing instruments, modified atmosphere packaging, package integrity, shelf-life evaluation, package cost reduction, sustainability and package safety. In 2011 started with Rapid Microbial Detection based on measuring bacterial load using oxygen sensing.

Food Safety and Hygiene Consultant at Voedselbank NL.

From 1989 till 2012

Biocontrol Consultants have been active in Food Diagnostics for more than two decades.
The company has been responsible for management, sales and marketing with several Food Diagnostics companies.
(See below)

Transia SA

Transia SA was founded in 1984 in Lyon (France) to develop tests for the food and feed industry. Basic technology for Transia was the immunological method (Elisa), which was quite new for this market segment in Food. First kits to the market were Mycotoxin (Aflatoxin) kits. In addition the pathogen tests (Salmonella, Listeria) came to the market. In 1989 the Dutch company Biocontrol Consultants BV started a joint venture with Transia and formed a Dutch sales company for Food and Feed diagnostics under the name Transia Biocontrol BV. In 1991 the shareholders did not want to invest any longer in the development of these test methods and Diffchamb AB acquired Transia SA. Diffchamb management decided to continue with the Transia Trade name for the test kits, as they were well know in the European Food industry. And still in 2011 this Transia trade name is used in Food Diagnostics.

Diffchamb AB was founded in 1987 in Gothenburg, and build around the development of the BioIndicator, a micro porous bead including bacterial spores. It was used to monitor and manage the sterilizing processes in the canning industry. Diffchamb acquired Transia in 1991 and had distribution agreements with major Food Diagnostics producers around the world. The requirements of the industry was leading in the product selections. The food industry was searching for suppliers with a full range of diagnostics for the detection of pathogens, food hygiene and food contaminants. Methods had to be user-friendly, simple, efficient and formally validated.

Through the acquisition of Transia Diffchamb added affiliate sales companies in Italy, UK and The Netherlands (Diffchamb Biocontrol BV) to the existing sales companies in Sweden and Denmark. In 1996 the shares of Diffchamb AB were listed at the SBI of the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Biocontrol Consultants continued as minority shareholder in Diffchamb Biocontrol BV. In 2002 a major acquisition incorporated the Italian Eurochem company in the group. This added a broad range of enzymatic tests to the product portfolio of Diffchamb. In April 2003 the Finnish Raisio plc bought all shares of Diffchamb AB and incorporated Diffchamb into Raisio under the name: Raisio Diagnostics.

Raisio Group is an international expert in plant-based nutrition. Main products include foods and functional food ingredients as well as feeds and malts. A major well known brand name is Benecol. Raisio restructured in 2003 the former Diffchamb R&D organization and replaced it from Lyon to Turku, Finland. The company name in The Netherlands was changed into Raisio Diagnostics BV and the shares of Biocontrol Consultants were purchased by Raisio. Early 2007, during the turnaround of the Diagnostics division, the board of Raisio decided to disinvest the Diagnostics division. The division was sold to BioControl Systems in the autumn of 2007.

BioControl Systems Inc. was founded in 1985 and is based in Bellevue, WA. The company develops and manufactures microbiological tests for the food industry. It offers a range of microbiology tests for pathogen detection, quality control, and hygiene monitoring. BioControl reorganized the European structure of Raisiso Diagnostics. Production as well as R&D were replaced to Bellevue and the sales organization restructured. Henk van der Meer continued as managing director of the Dutch operations in Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel (NL).