In 1916, Alphonse Cappuyns and Arsène Smeets, both students from
Leuven, started searching for the biological production of citric acid. First, they tried by letting random microorganisms
ferment sugar into citric acid. Later they proceeded by
selecting the
Aspergillus niger fungus after which they achieved a productivity which allowed for industrial exploitation. This led to the foundation of the Belgian-Italian company
La Citrique Belge in 1929. The Belgian know-how in fermentation was combined with the Italian know-how in refining citric acid. In 2010, Citrique Belge was acquired by
Adcuram, a German industrial holding. Subsequently, in 2016 Adcuram sold Citrique Belgique to Riflebird Capital from
Brussels. Clema Capital from Luxembourg announced a takeover of Citrique Belge in November 2020. ==See also==