OBS Food successfully acquires Italian company CCPB in the organic food sector

Food and Feed as strategic markets

Healthy food is becoming increasingly important for people all over the world - in 2017 they spent around 97 billion US dollars (approx. 87 billion euros) on organic products. In the previous year the amount was less than 90 billion US dollars. TÜV NORD, which has been internationally active for years in the field of testing and certification of food and animal feed, is starting the new decade with a stronger focus on food safety.

 

Europe is the second largest market for organic products after the USA. It is also where most manufacturers worldwide are concentrated. "Especially in Europe, consumers are becoming increasingly concerned with the quality of food. In the retail trade, tested organic quality has become an important decision-making criterion," says Theike, TÜV NORD Managing Director and responsible for the Food and Feed Safety Division. "We are responding to this development by acquiring a majority stake in the Italian company CCPB. CCPB (Controllo e Certificazione dei Prodotti Biologici), headquartered in Bologna, is a testing specialist for food and non-food products from organic and sustainable production.

 

 

CCPB is mainly active in Italy. TÜV NORD intends to press ahead with the internationalisation of the new subsidiary in order to open up the European market. Founded in 1988, more than 250 people now work for CCPB at six locations. Until now, the company has been wholly owned by the Consorzio il Biologico, an association of Italian companies active in the production, processing and marketing of agricultural products and foodstuffs from organic farming. CCPB currently has about 12,000 customers and is the third largest provider of certificates for organic products in Italy

 

 

TÜV NORD sees the expansion of food testing laboratories as a further priority on the road to increased food safety. It was only in December that a state-of-the-art laboratory was opened in Dubai. Equipped with the latest technology, the chemists and microbiologists employed there have specialised in the testing of agricultural products, foodstuffs and water. A new food testing laboratory is also being built in Thailand, where staff will initially concentrate on microbiological tests - and later also chemical testing methods - following the commissioning in autumn this year.