The firm bought a majority stake in Sino Analytica, an independent food testing laboratory in China from Pacific Andes Group (Hong Kong).
Sino Analytica offers testing, training, auditing and consulting services for the food industry.
The company operates two fully accredited labs in China (Qingdao and Ningbo) covering a surface area of more than 5,600m².
“Sino Analytica is highly complementary to our operations in China, bringing not only two additional locations to our laboratories in Shanghai and Beijing, but also adding advanced and complementary sets of skills and expertise in the field of high end chemistry,” said Philippe Sans, president and CEO of Mérieux NutriSciences.
Operations of Silliker, a subsidiary of Mérieux NutriSciences, in China and of Sino Analytica will be merged into one business entity in which Pacific Andes Group will hold a minority shareholder position.
Ng Joo Siang, vice president and managing director of Pacific Andes International Holdings, said it had reached a stage where it would benefit from a majority shareholder which has international expertise in food testing.
“This is an excellent evolution for Pacific Andes Group as we are maintaining our connections with Sino Analytica through our minority shareholding, while at the same time maintaining our focus on our core seafood business.”