About Us
FreshCheck was founded in 2015 by John Simpson and Alex Bond – PhD alumni from Imperial College London. The initial research looked to use siderophores that are excreted from microbial cells, as markers of microbial contamination.
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The 1st commercial product from FreshCheck was a colour-change hygiene verification spray that was evaluated by Campden BRI and found to be a unique solution for the testing of large surfaces. Field trials into test markets in 2019 resulted in limited production runs for specific customer markets and the feedback resulted in the integrated FreshCheck Hygiene Verification System consisting of:
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FreshCheck Swab Device
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FreshCheck App
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Meet The Team
Dr John Simpson
CEO
A PhD alumnus from Imperial College London, John studied the Chemical Biology of Health and Disease. He has previously managed a laboratory group in Singapore and managed his PhD group at Imperial College. John oversaw the development of FreshCheck’s first product offering – a colour-change spray for confirming hygiene – now oversees the direction and vision of FreshCheck overall.
Marc Barret
CCO
Marc has over 20 years of experience in the commercial management of food safety and diagnostics products. Coming from Neogen, where he oversaw £100mn in annual revenue, he's responsible for FreshCheck's commercial strategy and bringing new products to market.
Alex Bond
Co-Founder & Advisor
Alex also studied for a PhD in the chemical biology of Health and Disease. He guided the company through it's launch of the HVS before stepping away in 2025 to focus on family. He is a key advisor to the company, bringing his 10 years of contamination testing expertise to the company.
Barry McCrea
Sales
Barry has been working in food safety for over 35 years. With experience ranging from fisheries to breweries, he's got a wealth of knowledge about best practices in hygiene best practive. Barry has also worked major testing laboratories and universities to better understand hygiene risks an improve safety. Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.
Dr. Tashfia Ahmed
Senior Scientist
Tashfia has a PhD in Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering. She has a wealth of experience in developing and refining complex devices for medical and consumer settings. As Senior Scientist, Tashfia is responsible for the development of new FreshCheck products.
Sonia Ginty
Operations Manager
Sonia was the CEO & President of Q-Bag where she oversaw the success and delivery of the company. She joined FreshCheck in 2025 and has brought her expertise in operations and administration to provide a crucial role to the business and ensure customer satisfaction.
Yasmin Gariba-Hamilton
Scientist
Yasmin has a Master's in Chemistry from King's College London. She has been working on improving the sensitivity and specificity of FreshCheck's colour change tools for over 2 years and plays a crucial role in new product research and development.