Lansing-based Neogen Corp., a developer of food and animal safety products, has acquired Sterling Test House, a commercial food-testing laboratory in southwest India. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“Much as we did in China, this acquisition is intended to bolster our long-term strategy of accelerating our revenue growth in critical global food safety markets,” says Jason Lilly, Neogen’s vice president of corporate development. “India’s rapidly expanding middle class is increasingly demanding more, higher quality foods — which is an exact match with Neogen’s mission.”
Sterling Test House performs a majority of the food and water testing for hotels and restaurants in southwest India. The company also does safety and quality analysis for India’s nutraceutical market (foods or minerals that are consumed to improve health) and its food export business. The laboratory is located in Cochin in the state of Kerala, which Lilly says is the county’s leading region for the export of spices, tea, fruits, and vegetables.
Sterling Test House employs 40 people, who will continue on with the acquisition. Neogen Corp., founded in 1982, employs more than 1,000 people. The company’s Lansing-based Food Safety Division develops and markets dehydrated culture media and diagnostic tests to detect foodborne bacteria and food allergens.
