Neogen inks deal for foothold in Asia

By Joseph James Whitworth

- Last updated on GMT

NeoFilm for Yeast and Mold has also gained AOAC Performance Tested Method status
NeoFilm for Yeast and Mold has also gained AOAC Performance Tested Method status

Related tags Food safety Yeast Bread

Neogen Corporation has acquired the food safety and veterinary genomic assets of its Chinese distributor, Beijing Anapure BioScientific Co.

Anapure has been a distributor of Neogen's food safety products for more than 10 years, and has offered its veterinary genomic services.

Its food safety testing business includes more than 700 customers in the dairy, beverage and beer, animal feed, and meat and poultry industries.

Expand in the region

Neogen said the deal will allow it to build upon existing infrastructure to provide a foothold in Asia, from which it will be able to expand throughout the region.

James Herbert, Neogen's chairman and chief executive officer, said by acquiring distribution partners in Europe and Brazil it can create a direct presence and accelerate expansion into that market.

"China's burgeoning middle class, with its rapidly growing demand for higher quality meat and dairy products, makes the country a substantial growth opportunity for Neogen products - both for animal production on the country's farms, and in processing plants throughout China's food processing and distribution industry,” ​he said.

“Acquiring these strategic assets from Anapure will give us direct access to the western and multinational food companies that have located in China, most of which are already Neogen customers elsewhere.”

NeoFilm test AOAC validated

Neogen has also had its test to detect yeast and mold in food matrices granted Performance Tested Method status by the AOAC Research Institute.

NeoFilm for Yeast and Mold test produces results in 48 hours with conventional methods taking up to seven days.

Microbial tests require the inoculation of a fabric sample pad and an incubation period. Following incubation, the sample pad is evaluated for bacterial colony growth. 

The test was compared to the FDA’s Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) reference culture procedure to detect yeasts and molds in breaded chicken nuggets, dry pet food, orange juice concentrate, yogurt, and cake mix.

Ed Bradley, Neogen’s vice president of Food Safety, said: “The NeoFilm yeast and mold test was shown to produce rapid and accurate results—allowing for quicker product releases that improve profitability.  

“Yeasts and molds are unique, as they represent a large and diverse group of microorganisms that can cause various degrees of deterioration and decomposition of foods.”

Related topics Business Food safety China East Asia

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