FAIRFIELD, Iowa and HERSTAL, Belgium – July 12, 2018 – FoodChain ID (“FoodChain ID” or “the Company”), a Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC portfolio company and a market leading platform dedicated to providing food safety and food quality solutions, today announced that it has acquired Quality Partner (“QP”), a premier food safety testing, inspections and certification company serving the Benelux & France markets. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 2000 by a team of academic researchers, QP carries out quality control activities in the agriculture, food processing, retail and catering sectors with a portfolio of testing, inspection, certification, and technical services. QP’s testing business focuses on food microbiology testing, metagenomics and biomarker testing; its certification offerings include Organic, FSSC 22000, ISO22000, GlobalGAP and Belgian standards. QP also offers technical and training services to retailers and manufacturers. The Benelux region is a priority growth market for FoodChain ID with more than USD 42Bn in revenue in the food market. QP has over 3,000 clients in Europe and is a recognized market leader.
Brad Riemenapp, CEO of FoodChain ID said, “The addition of Quality Partner further expands FoodChain ID’s international footprint and leadership position. QP brings us access to its broad and attractive client base and 18 years of expertise in food safety testing, inspections and certification. This acquisition is a further step in developing FoodChain ID’s presence in organic certification, following the acquisition of Bioagricert in December 2017. We are excited to enter the Benelux region with the completion of this acquisition.”
About FoodChain ID
FoodChain ID Group companies provide integrated food safety and food quality solutions that address the challenges and opportunities in the rapidly evolving food industry. Serving more than 15,000 clients in over 100 countries with a market-leading portfolio of testing, inspection, certification, and consulting services, the FoodChain ID Group helps companies navigate the increasingly regulated global food economy demanding higher levels of transparency, accountability, safety and sustainability.
About Paine Schwartz Partners
A global leader in sustainable food chain investing, Paine Schwartz Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on investment opportunities in the fast-growing, dynamic global food and agribusiness sectors. The firm’s investment, operations and finance professionals invest throughout cycles across the food and agribusiness value chain and bring a collaborative and active management approach to portfolio companies. The firm currently invests through its $893 million Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund IV, which is solely dedicated to food and agribusiness investing. For further information, see www.paineschwartz.com.
