Intertek gains UK food testing presence with new buy

By Helen Glaberson

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Nutrition Food Food safety

Food quality and safety testing group, Intertek, has gained a food testing presence in the UK for the first time through the acquisition of Food Analytical Laboratories (FAL) for £6m.

FAL provides chemical testing for companies that develop, produce and distribute food, functional foods and drinks to monitor the presence of residues, pesticides, pathogens, allergens and antibiotics so that they conform to UK and EU regulations.

The laboratory also verifies nutrient content and other properties during the development and registration stages of regulated foods and nutrition supplements.

Renamed Intertek FAL, the new business will help Intertek expand its UK portfolio in these areas, Sarah Ogilvie investor relations manager, Intertek Group told FoodProductionDaily.com about the bolt-on acquisition.

The FAL team also provides a lot of support to the meat industry and looking at microbiological issues. Thus, Intertek’s European clients will also gain from this added knowledge, she added.

Full package

Intertek already provides auditing services to some of the larger retail companies in the UK. However, good food quality and safety across the supply chain should consist of a combination of different control elements such as testing, auditing and certification, said Ogilvie.

Now with FAL, she said that Intertek can offer that “full support to clients, with different checks and balances across the supply chain.”

Acquisitions and results

Intertek has also announced two other bolt-on acquisitions. It has bought Brussels-based Research, Development & Consulting​, a company that assesses businesses environmental impact, ​and UK-based QinetiQ UK Fuel and Lubricants Testing Business (OALTB),​ a fuel and lubricant analysis consulting company.

The takeovers come as the food safety group peported strong growth for the six months ending 30 June 2011. Intertek notes a 17 per cent increase in revenue from £652.6m the year before, to £763.1m in 2011.

In addition, operating profit grew 14 per cent from £103.7m in 2010 to £118.7m.

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