NSF strengthens EU lab network
G+S Laboratory in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany is an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited food and water testing lab offering testing services for chemistry, microbiology and drinking water analysis.
It was founded in 2006 through a merger of the Chemical Analytical Laboratory and the G+S Laboratory for Bacteriology and Food Hygiene.
In 2012, the firm took over the Analytical Laboratory for Chemical and Microbiological Studies (ALCuM).
Lab network expansion
G+S Laboratory employs more than 40 people with backgrounds in chemistry, chemical engineering, histology, microbiology and food technology.
“G+S Laboratory is an important part of NSF International’s strategy to serve testing clients in Germany and throughout Europe,” said Dr Thomas Wilke, managing director of NSF Erdmann Analytics in Germany.
Dr Wilke will oversee operations of G+S Laboratory in addition to duties at NSF Erdmann Analytics.
G+S Laboratory can do nutritional analysis, caloric value validation, ingredient/quality parameter testing and contaminant/undesirable substance testing.
On the food microbiology side it offers aerobic count, lactic acid bacteria, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Listeria, yeast and mold, enterobacteria, coliforms, E. coli, Enterococcus and Salmonella and norovirus testing.
Capacity of previous acquisitions
Last year, NSF purchased Euro Consultants Group (ECG) in Wavre, Belgium and in 2015 it acquired Erdmann Analytics, also in Rheda-Wiedenbrück.
NSF Erdmann Analytics employs more than 170 people and provides testing services for meat, produce, packaged foods, fruit juices, seafood, dairy and pet/livestock feed.
NSF ECG services include supply chain and retail food safety auditing, training in food safety and hygiene regulations as well as legal requirements and grant-funded consulting projects for the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Kevan P. Lawlor, NSF International president and CEO, said: “With an increasingly global food chain and new regulations in Europe and the US, as well as other food safety standards in other parts of the world, offering a global reach and expertise in testing is vitally important to our customers.”
NSF’s services include certification to Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) standards, GLOBALG.A.P. and Tesco NURTURE schemes, HACCP validation and inspection, label claims verification and certification, DNA and food package testing, and organic and Certified Transitional certification through Quality Assurance International (QAI).
VWR buys Seastar
Meanwhile, VWR has acquired a manufacturer of reagents used in the research, laboratory and microelectronics industries.
Seastar Chemicals makes ultra-pure acid and base products for detecting trace elements for environmental, food and semiconductor analysis testing.
It uses proprietary purification technology, analytical techniques and a customized bottling process to maintain ultra-high purity levels across the product portfolio.
Manuel Brocke-Benz, president and CEO of VWR, said: "Their unique manufacturing capabilities and ultra-high purity product lines will allow us to better serve our customers."
Seastar headquarters are on Vancouver Island in Sidney, British Columbia, Canada and it has partnered with a distribution facility in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
A clean room has two ThermoFisher Element 2 High Resolution ICP-MS and a Perkin Elmer NexION350 ICP-MS for sample analysis at the parts per trillion (ppt) and sub-ppt level.
Seastar was part of the AXYS Group, as was AXYS Analytical which was bought by SGS last year.
