Honoring Four Decades of Helping to Ensure Food Safety and Food Quality

On March 22, 2023, the QualiTru team met at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Food Science and Nutrition for an educational pilot plant tour led by Darrell Bigalke, founder of QualiTru Sampling Systems, dairy microbiologist, entrepreneur, and proud University of Minnesota alum.  As part of the celebration of QualiTru’s  40th anniversary, the team had a surprise in store for Darrell that will continue his legacy for the next generation of food safety and food quality enthusiasts.

How do you honor a 40-year passion for food safety and quality? 

Food Safety and Food Quality Award at University of Minnesota
Caption: From left to right: Dr. Johan B. Ubbink, Professor and Head of Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota; Darrell Bigalke, the founder of QualiTru Sampling Systems; and Dr. Sandra Godden, DVM, DVSc, Professor and Interim Associate Dean of Graduate Programs at the College of Veterinary Medicine. 

To honor Darrell’s passion for detecting coliforms and other potentially harmful microorganisms — and understanding the gravity of NOT finding them — the QualiTru team worked with the University of Minnesota to establish the Darrell Bigalke Food Safety & Food Quality Award. This annual dairy science scholarship is intended to help the next generation of students from University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine or College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences pursue key issues in dairy science and food quality and safety. 

The QualiTru team, family, and friends were joined by special guests, Dr. Johan B. Ubbink, Dr. Sandra Godden, and Darrell’s professor, mentor, and longtime friend, Dr. Frank Busta, Director Emeritus, National Center for Food Protection & Defense at University of Minnesota. Darrell’s daughter, Anne Bigalke, QualiTru’s VP of Strategic Development, surprised him with a University of Minnesota sweatshirt and a heartfelt presentation of the award prior to the plant tour. 

Anne’s heartfelt presentation of the Darrell Bigalke Food Safety & Food Quality Award to Darrell prior to the plant tour. 

Read more about Darrell’s dedication to food safety and the Darrell Bigalke Food Safety & Food Quality Award in our press release on March 23, 2023. 

Darrell’s passion for food safety and quality, captured in his mantra, ‘Your test result is only as accurate as your sample,’ has guided the philosophy of our company for the past four decades. As we celebrate our milestone 40th anniversary, QualiTru is proud to carry on his legacy and champion his extraordinary impact on the dairy and liquid food industries by supporting the next generation of students as they continue to progress in their academic explorations while advancing the body of knowledge related to innovations in food quality and safety.

Ian Davis, QualiTru’s CEO

Mara Herschbach is the Marketing Manager at QualiTru Sampling Systems. She graduated Summa Cum Lauda from Metropolitan State University with a BS in Marketing and has more than two decades of experience as a Designer, Creative Manager, and Creative Director overseeing integrated marketing campaigns across emerging businesses, video, photoshoots, print, digital, and social as well as lead rebranding and design efforts for large-scale, corporate identity systems on a global scale. She has an appetite for learning new things and has also acquired a degree in graphic design and certificates in practical application for web design, video editing, and animation.