News
27-Apr-2009 - LGC opens
new BSE testing laboratory in Exeter
LGC brings its unrivalled BSE testing experience to South
West England
LGC, the international
science-based service company, announces the opening of its new BSE
(bovine spongiform encephalopathy) testing laboratory in Exeter,
Devon. LGC has been testing brainstem samples for the presence of
abnormal prion protein, the indicator of BSE infection, since 2001
and has tested over 2.4 million brainstem samples to date.
Located at the Exeter
University Innovation Centre, the new facility marks a significant
milestone in the continued development of LGC’s BSE testing
capabilities, adding to its existing BSE testing operations at
laboratories in Edinburgh and in Runcorn, Cheshire.
The new laboratory
establishes a testing centre in the South West of England in close
proximity to a number of LGC’s key customers. Samples from over a
dozen abattoirs in the region were previously transported each
evening to LGC’s BSE testing laboratory in Runcorn.
LGC’s investment reflects
the company’s recognition of the need for a BSE laboratory near
Exeter in anticipation of the legislative changes made in December
2008 by the Department for Food and Rural
Affairs (Defra), that now require the meat industry to pay for
the BSE tests.
David Richardson, Chief Executive of LGC,
commented: “LGC is delighted to open the new BSE laboratory in
Exeter to provide a streamlined testing service to our customers in
the South West of England. Our location at the Innovation Centre
opens up the potential for some exciting scientific collaboration
with the University of Exeter”.
Notes to
editors: