Laboratory Corporation of AmericaHoldings (LabCorp), Burlington, N.C., acquired Safe Foods International Holdings, LLC (SFIH), Washington, D.C., and its two operating companies, International Food Network (IFN) and The National Food Laboratory (The NFL). With the addition of IFN and The NFL, LabCorp now offers an expanded range of industry-leading services to the global food, beverage and nutrition industries through Covance’s nutritional chemistry and food safety business. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“We identified nutritional chemistry and food safety as an exciting growth opportunity for our company immediately after the acquisition,” says David King, chairman and CEO of LabCorp. “International Food Network and The National Food Laboratory represent our first major expansion in this important area, and we are delighted that these high-quality companies and their outstanding teams are joining our company. With this acquisition, we extend our capabilities to offer a full range of product development and product integrity services to food and beverage manufacturers and retailers, industry organizations and academic institutions.”

“This was the right time and the right partner for our business to become part of a larger organization,” adds Johannes Burlin, president of SFIH. “We are excited to join Covance, and we look forward to the opportunities our combination will create for customers as we expand our global business.”

“These two companies are recognized leaders in the industry, particularly their product development solutions,” says Jon Meltzer, LabCorp’s senior vice president for corporate strategy. “We look forward to combining the capabilities of IFN and The NFL with Covance’s industry-leading nutritional analysis, contaminant and microbiology testing services. Supported by our enterprise expertise in logistics, molecular testing, data, analytics and contract research, we will continue to expand our capabilities to provide a truly differentiated offering to this vital industry.”