COKZ

What COKZ does

COKZ (Stichting Controle Orgaan Kwaliteits Zaken) is the Netherlands Controlling Authority for Dairy and Eggs, operating as a zelfstandig bestuursorgaan (ZBO) — an independent administrative authority established under the Dutch Kaderwet zelfstandige bestuursorganen and founded in 1901. The organization is statutorily designated to supervise safety and quality across the Dutch dairy and egg sectors, maintain public registers of recognized and registered establishments, and issue export certificates and pre-certificates for dairy, eggs, and egg products under EU Regulation 853/2004. Core operations are delivered through four departments — Field Supervision (Toezicht), Export Certification (Afgifte Exportcertificaten Zuivel), Data Processing, and Strategy & Expertise — supported by the e-CertNL electronic certification platform for issuance and management of export certificates. COKZ reports to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LNV) and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS), with its 2026 budget approved by the board on 19 September 2025.

The organization employs 59 staff at its Leusden headquarters and operates as a non-profit entity with no profit motive. Revenue is generated through regulated, ministry-approved tariffs including hourly inspection rates (€96.22–€139.67), dairy sector per-kg-milk contributions (€30.00 per million kg milk), fixed business contributions (€75–€180), export certificate base fees (€20–€45), and government appropriations for statutory duties such as Wet Dieren and the EU hygiene package. Total expected 2026 revenue is approximately €12.9 million against budgeted costs of €12.6 million, with the largest revenue lines being Certificates (€3.9M), Wet Dieren (€3.4M), Export Programs/Modules (€2.6M), and the Hygiene Package plus Warenwet (€2.3M). COKZ works in coordination with NVWA (which issues final certificates for eggs in Utrecht while COKZ provides pre-certificates in Leusden), NZO for market access advisory, and several data-sharing partners, and is currently implementing a two-person executive directorate under new director of operations Bianca van den Heuvel.

Name

COKZ

Legal name

Stichting Controle Orgaan Kwaliteits Zaken (COKZ)

Website

https://cokz.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1901

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

COKZ is the Netherlands' designated controlling authority for dairy and eggs, supervising safety and quality across all Dutch dairy and egg establishments and issuing export certifications for dairy and pre-certifications for eggs under EU and Dutch law.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Safety Regulatory Supervision

NAICS

Regulation of Agricultural Marketing and Commodities (92614), Regulation of Agricultural Marketing and Commodities (926140)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYAFALADAC

Regulatory Consulting & Compliance Program Management (FDA/USDA/EFSA)

Agriculture & Food Production/Food Safety, Testing & Certification/Regulatory Compliance Testing & Consulting (FDA/USDA/EFSA, HACCP)

SECONDARYAFALACAG

Witness Audits, Office Assessments & Certification Governance Services

Agriculture & Food Production/Food Safety, Testing & Certification/Food Safety Certification Bodies (ISO 22000, FSSC 22000, BRCGS, SQF)

SECONDARYAFALADAH

Supplier Approval, Verification & Food Safety Risk Management (GFSI-aligned)

Agriculture & Food Production/Food Safety, Testing & Certification/Regulatory Compliance Testing & Consulting (FDA/USDA/EFSA, HACCP)

SECONDARYAFALAGAC

Supplier & Co-Manufacturer Verification (Approval, Audits, Compliance)

Agriculture & Food Production/Food Safety, Testing & Certification/Food Traceability, Recall & Supply Chain Verification (Testing/Verification Services)

Keywords

• Dairy quality supervision
• Egg sector regulation
• Food safety inspection
• Export certification services
• Establishment registration authorities

Headquarters

HQ city

Leusden

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government-regulated fees and tariffs: COKZ operates as a non-profit organization funded through regulated fees and tariffs charged to businesses in the dairy and egg sectors for supervision, inspection, certification, and registration services. Revenue is derived from fees for official controls, export certificates, recognition/registration services, and government subsidies.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

COKZ provides statutory supervision, recognition/registration, and export certification for the Dutch dairy and egg/poultry sectors. It audits and inspects dairy establishments, egg packing centres, egg product manufacturers, egg traders, and storage locations, maintains the public registers of approved businesses, and issues health and other export certificates for dairy products and pre-certificates for eggs and egg products through the e-CertNL electronic certification platform. All services are delivered under Dutch and EU food hygiene law (notably EU Regulation 853/2004) with tariffs and budgets approved by the Ministers of LNV and VWS.

Product overview

COKZ (Controle Orgaan Kwaliteits Zaken) is the Netherlands Controlling Authority for Dairy and Eggs, operating as a regulatory and supervisory body. The organization offers a unified portfolio of quality control and certification services for the Dutch dairy and egg sectors, comprising: dairy supervision services, poultry and egg supervision services, dairy export certification (Afgifte Exportcertificaten Zuivel), egg pre-certification (Voorcertificering Eieren en Eiproducten), and public registers of approved establishments. The organization also provides a tariff system for its services and offers various online forms for administrative procedures. COKZ operates under the Kaderwet zelfstandige bestuursorganen and is supervised by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) and Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Toezicht Zuivel (Dairy Supervision) Statutory supervision, inspection, and quality control for all Dutch dairy companies, including farm dairy operations, dairy processors, cheese makers, and dairy storage locations, together with maintenance of the register of approved dairy establishments.
• Toezicht Pluimvee en Eieren (Poultry and Egg Supervision) Statutory supervision, inspection, and quality control for egg packing centres, egg product manufacturers, egg traders, collectors, wholesalers, and storage locations, including maintenance of the public register of approved egg-sector establishments.
• Afgifte Exportcertificaten Zuivel (Dairy Export Certificates) Issuance of official health and other export certificates for Dutch dairy products, available only to establishments holding an NL approval number; certificates are processed electronically via e-CertNL.
• Voorcertificering Eieren en Eiproducten (Egg Pre-certification) Pre-certification of eggs and egg products before export outside the European Union, performed by COKZ in Leusden; final certificates are subsequently issued by NVWA in Utrecht.
• Registers Geregistreerde Erkende Bedrijven (Register of Approved Establishments) Public registers listing all Dutch dairy and egg companies that are recognized or registered under the EU Hygiene Package, made available to NVWA and used to verify approval numbers for export certification.
• Online Forms and Self-Service Portal (Formulieren) Standardized online forms enabling dairy and egg businesses to apply for recognition or registration, request export certificates, file complaints, submit improvement proposals, and contact COKZ.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NVWA (Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit)coreOthersCOKZ works closely with the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority. COKZ maintains registers of recognized establishments that are made available to NVWA. NVWA coordinates with COKZ for export certification of eggs and egg products (NVWA issues certificates in Utrecht, COKZ provides pre-certificates in Leusden). Both organizations treat EU and EG notations as equivalent in approval numbers.
• Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LNV)coreOthersLNV is the overseeing ministry for COKZ. Budgets and tariffs require approval from the Minister of LNV. COKZ falls under the Kaderwet zelfstandige bestuursorganen with LNV as the primary supervisory ministry.
• Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS)coreOthersVWS provides oversight and approval of certain COKZ tariffs that are included in the Warenwetregeling. VWS tariffs are published in the Staatscourant after ministerial approval.
• NZO (Nederlandse Zuivel Organisatie)minorOthersTeam Markttoegang Zuivel of NZO advises businesses on third country registrations and changes to identification numbers. COKZ refers businesses to NZO for specific export market access guidance.
• Gezondheidsdienst voor Dieren (Animal Health Service)minorOthersData sharing partner for inspections and controls. Personal data is shared with Gezondheidsdienst voor Dieren for specific control and inspection purposes.
• External research laboratoryminorOthersData sharing for national registration platform. Personal data shared for landelijk registratieplatform purposes.
• CBR (Centraal Bureau Rijvaardigheidsbewijzen)minorOthersData sharing regarding competence certification for RMO (raw milk transport) drivers in the context of the Regeling dierlijke producten.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Control Union Certifications: Global certification and inspection company headquartered in the Netherlands, active in agricultural commodity certification including dairy. Comparable in providing third-party inspection and certification services to food sector clients, though operating commercially rather than as a regulatory ZBO.
• Bureau Veritas Certification: Global testing, inspection, and certification firm with significant food and agri operations in the Netherlands, including dairy supply chain certification. Comparable in providing food-sector certification services with a similar revenue model.
• Kiwa Nederland: A major Dutch certification body providing inspection, testing, and certification services across multiple sectors including food and agri. Comparable business model of fee-based inspection and certification with similar Dutch regulatory customers.
• NVWA (Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit): The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority is the national-level regulatory counterpart that issues final export certificates for eggs and oversees broader food safety enforcement. COKZ operates in a delegated/supplementary capacity to NVWA, making it the closest institutional peer within the Netherlands.
• Eurofins Scientific: Global food testing services provider with extensive operations in the Netherlands serving dairy and food producers. Comparable as a fee-based inspection and testing provider operating under food safety regulations in the same Dutch market.

Direct peers

• Skal Biocontrole: Dutch independent supervisory authority for organic certification, structured similarly to COKZ as a zelfstandig bestuursorgaan with statutory authority over its sector and a comparable fee-based revenue model serving Dutch producers.
• Stichting Keurmerk Veilig Ondernemen (KVO): Dutch foundation providing sectoral quality and safety certification schemes with a comparable structure to COKZ as a stichting administering regulatory compliance programs for Dutch industry sectors.

Emerging players

• FoodChain ID: Specialized food certification, testing, and supply chain verification company with a non-GMO and food safety verification business. Comparable in the food-sector certification and verification services domain, particularly around regulatory compliance and labeling.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cokz

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about COKZ