LuminUltra partners with Kikkoman Biochemifa to expand food safety solutions in North America

CANADA – LuminUltra, an applied molecular diagnostics company, has announced a new partnership with Kikkoman Biochemifa to strengthen access to advanced food safety and hygiene monitoring tools across North America. 

The collaboration designates LuminUltra as the official distributor of Kikkoman’s Food Safety Testing Solutions in the region, bringing together two organizations with decades of expertise in microbial monitoring.

Kikkoman, a globally respected food producer and supplier of food safety technologies, has developed trusted microbial monitoring tools used extensively across Asia and Europe. 

LuminUltra, with more than 30 years of experience in microbial management solutions, will now deliver these technologies to North American food and beverage producers, expanding its service capabilities in the sector.

Central to the agreement are two of Kikkoman’s flagship technologies. 

The A3 Hygiene Monitoring System offers a more comprehensive assessment of surface cleanliness by detecting ATP, ADP, and AMP, going beyond traditional ATP-only tests. 

This allows food safety teams to confirm the effectiveness of sanitization in the same time required for standard methods but with more complete data, an essential safeguard in high-risk categories such as ready-to-eat, dairy, and meat products.

The second solution, Easy Plate™, is a ready-to-use, culture-based platform for detecting pathogens and indicator organisms. 

By eliminating the need for media preparation or spreading steps, Easy Plate™ cuts preparation time in half and simplifies testing for laboratories. 

When paired with the Colony Counting System, the solution further improves accuracy and efficiency by reducing variability associated with manual plate counting.

“These solutions have been trusted by food producers across Asia and Europe for decades, but they are underutilized in North America,” Pat Whalen, President and CEO of LuminUltra, explained.

The collaboration builds on a 30-year relationship between LuminUltra and Kikkoman, rooted in shared innovation and the belief that better microbial monitoring drives better outcomes. 

“This partnership is about accelerating access to more accurate, proactive testing for the food and beverage market. Producers want better insights, and now they will have the tools and expertise to achieve them,” Whalen added.

It also reflects LuminUltra’s ongoing investment in food and beverage microbiology, including its 2023 acquisition of Impact Microbiology Services.

Yoshiaki Asami, President of Kikkoman Biochemifa Company, further highlighted that “As a food manufacturer ourselves, we know the challenges QA and QC teams face daily. With this partnership, we are proud to bring proven tools to North America and support a safer global food system.”

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