In order to provide even better support in the field of supply chain management to our customers in the food industry who purchase raw goods and finished products from Turkey, the GBA Group has begun a strategic partnership with Intercolab in Izmir. The goal of the partnership is to assist in the purchasing and assessment of raw goods and finished products by combining impartial sampling on-site, smooth logistics for transporting the samples from Turkey, and residue analysis “Made in Germany” by the GBA laboratories based in Germany. The strategic partnership between the GBA Group and Intercolab generates a connection between the German and Turkish markets. Fatih Yilmaz, GBA employee and Managing Director of the Intercolab site in Izmir, has been familiar with the Turkish market for many years. He studied Food Chemistry at the TU Berlin and speaks fluent German and Turkish. His team in Izmir can also draw upon their long-term experience in the field and they have been working in close cooperation with the GBA experts in Germany for several years. This results in a comprehensive and flexible range of chemical and biological laboratory analysis, sampling, shipment inspection, and consulting in association with Turkey. Our customers are provided with the opportunity to order analyses on site and process the sample dispatch directly without any additional effort on their part. There is even the added benefit of improved quality assurance, as the sampling is conducted on site before the products are shipped from Turkey, which ensures that representative samples make their way to the laboratories and that ultimately the true quality of the goods will be identified.

Raw produce from Turkey plays an integral role in the food industry. With its particular geographic location, the country provides the opportunity to cultivate a wide variety of produce. Therefore, the site in Izmir is very important, because it is the place where numerous raw goods are delivered, processed, refined, packaged, and shipped to the European market. Furthermore, Izmir is the focal point of the organic food industry, a field that demands the expertise of the specialists at the GBA Group, who have been the primary contact for analytical issues for many years. Further regions where the GBA Group and Intercolab provide their combined services are, for example, the Black Sea coast, which is the worldwide leading grower of hazelnuts, or Central Anatolian Malatya, with their world-renowned apricots. From the analytical standpoint, in addition to the sensory tests and microbiological assessment, the analysis of pesticides and mycotoxins are extremely important for these products.

Contacts: GBA Group Food Germany: Dr. Markus Zell, m.zell(at)gba-group.de GBA Group Food Turkey / Intercolab: Fatih Yilmaz, fatih.yilmaz(at)intercolab.com