Merck and India’s Food Safety and Standards Authority Partner on Skill Development in Food Safety

• Merck develops fully equipped Center for Microbiological Analysis Training lab
• Food safety scientists to be trained in microbiological testing

Ghaziabad, India, April 30, 2019 — Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced the handover of a fully equipped microbiological testing laboratory to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The Center for Microbiological Analysis Training (C-MAT) will provide training to food safety scientists from government laboratories and FSSAI-ratified private laboratories on the latest technology in microbiological testing.

“The importance of food safety in India has grown, given the increasing level of processing and overall food production,” said Udit Batra, member of the Merck Executive Board and CEO, Life Science. “We will continue to provide skills training, implement new technologies for food testing to address quality requirements and advance food safety for India, as well as the global market.”

The Merck-developed C-MAT is equipped with technology that will help solve many of the challenges faced by food safety scientists in pathogen testing and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Audit management. HACCP is an internationally accepted technique for preventing microbiological, chemical and physical contamination along the food supply chain. It identifies the risks, establishes critical control points, sets critical limits and ensures control measures are validated, verified and monitored before implementation. The laboratory is designed to meet the Biosafety Level-2 standard for microbial testing.

“I am very happy to note that Merck is establishing the microbiological center at our National Food Laboratory in Ghaziabad,” said Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI. “This is going to be a world-class training center for food analysts and other technical staff from laboratories across the country.”

Merck offers a complete food pathogen testing platform to the food and beverage safety testing market and is advancing global food and beverage safety and quality though lab testing efficiency and regulatory expertise.

Follow Merck on Twitter @Merckgroup, on Facebook @merckgroup and on LinkedIn.

About FSSAI

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. The FSSAI has been established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which is a consolidating statute related to food safety and regulation in India. FSSAI is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.

About Merck

Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 52,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene- editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – Merck is everywhere. In 2018, Merck generated sales of €14.8 billion in 66 countries.

Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck’s technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the “Merck” name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science, and EMD Performance Materials.