Neogen awarded USDA contract

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Jul 22, 2019, 14:00 ET

LANSING, Mich., July 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Neogen Corporation (NASDAQ: NEOG) announced today that it had again been awarded the contract to supply certain dehydrated culture media to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

The FSIS uses Neogen Culture Media to monitor raw and ready-to-eat meat and poultry products for the presence of bacterial pathogens, including Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella species, and non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STECs).

"We are pleased to again earn the trust of the FSIS as it works to ensure the safety of the food supply," said John Adent, Neogen's president and CEO. "Neogen's culture media products are used by leading scientists, researchers and regulatory agencies around the world in a variety of applications, including food safety and the production of vaccines. Last year, we completed the global harmonization of the products under the Neogen Culture Media brand, which meant that our customers receive the exact same formulation for the same product, wherever in the world they may be."

FSIS Laboratories perform regulatory testing of meat, poultry and egg products for the presence of foodborne pathogens at its locations in St. Louis, Missouri; Athens, Georgia; and Albany, California. The testing methods used by FSIS require large volumes of culture media on a daily basis, which led to the agency seeking bids for a single supplier.

Neogen's globally harmonized culture media product line, Neogen Culture Media, was developed to combine and enhance our previous Acumedia^® and Lab M^® microbiological culture media lines. Neogen Culture Media offers a range of products and formats designed to support microbiology testing across many sectors including food, water, pharmaceutical and clinical around the world.

Neogen Corporation develops and markets products dedicated to food and animal safety. The company's Food Safety Division markets culture media and diagnostic test kits to detect foodborne bacteria, natural toxins, food allergens, drug residues, plant diseases and sanitation concerns. Neogen's Animal Safety Division is a leader in worldwide biosecurity products, animal genomics testing, and the manufacturing and distribution of a variety of animal healthcare products, including diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and veterinary instruments.