FoodChain ID, a provider of technology-enabled food safety, quality, and sustainability solutions, has acquired Viaware, a cloud-based food contact risk assessment and integrated supply-chain-compliance-solutions provider. FoodChain ID is a portfolio company of Berkshire Partners.
Founded in 2013, with headquarters in The Netherlands, Viaware's primary product is FOCOS, a web-based application that helps businesses in the supply chain to manage and control compliance work and documentation. FOCOS enables food companies to manage packaging products and raw materials compliance, create customized Declarations of Compliance (DoCs), manage supporting documentation, and communicate with suppliers and customers in a single application. FOCOS integrates with ERP and PLM systems.
Brad Riemenapp, chief executive officer, FoodChain ID, said, "We are confident the Viaware team will further enhance our growing customer demand for services to market safe and healthy foods globally. With its focus on food packaging safety, Viaware is a strong strategic fit with FoodChain ID, expanding our technology-enabled services while strengthening our customer base and building on our global profile. With Viaware, we are adding scale to our business in the food safety sector while expanding our targeted portfolio through complementary, technology-enabled supply chain compliance and consulting services."
FoodChain ID will combine Viaware's FOCOS software with its gComply, gComply Plus, Supply Chain Management, and Praedexi/Horizon Scanning solutions focusing on food contact regulatory compliance, safety, and risk management. These combined services help businesses better understand consumer, legal, and customer requirements. It also allows them to analyze complex regulations, collect supplier evidence to demonstrate compliance, expedite data collection and analysis, manage change, and simplify supplied product compliance risk management.
Dr. Mitchell Cheeseman, FDA practice director of FoodChain ID and former official with the US FDA human foods program, said: "I am very excited with our strategic expansion, which aligns with my lifelong passion for food safety. We continue to develop technology and knowledge to support GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) assessments necessary to establish compliance and market entry for food contact materials – both globally and here in the U.S."
Dr. Kris Callaert, technical director of Viaware, said, "Since our founding, we've strived to enhance technology-enabled risk assessment of customer food packaging materials. By joining FoodChain ID, we will better serve our customers with global regulatory coverage, enhanced insights, further integrated solutions, and a broader product portfolio. We are looking forward to expanding technology solutions for our customers."
