Acquisition helps further expand NSF’s existing certification services and operations in Latin America

ANN ARBOR, Mich. and LIMA, Peru, Jan. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — NSF International, an independent global public health and safety organization which develops standards, and tests and certifies products for the food, water and health sciences industries, has acquired the INASSA Group of Lima, Peru, which is comprised of three segments: technical analysis, laboratory and sanitation. It is known as International Analytical Services S.A.C., (INASSA), Environmental Laboratories Peru S.A.C. (Envirolab) and Servicios Integrales de Saneamiento S.A.C. (Servisanea). (http://www.INASSAgroup.com.pe/). The INASSA Group will now be known as NSF-INASSA, NSF-Envirolab and NSF-Servisanea.

Founded in 1981, collectively the NSF-INASSA Group is a leader in the Peruvian market in quality control, analytical testing, certifications, inspections, training and consulting. The NSF-INASSA Group provides services across the seafood, fish meal, pharmaceutical products, drinking water and mining sectors, and also works closely with regulators and government agencies. The NSF-INASSA Group employs over 220 scientists, auditors and environmental health professionals.

NSF International (www.nsf.org), which has existing offices in Peru, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Costa Rica, will make NSF-INASSA Group its primary Latin American base for the full range of laboratory testing and technical services that NSF provides for the food, water, pharma and seafood sectors. Carmen Catter and Luis Bueno, founders of the INASSA Group, continue in their leadership role as General Managers of the NSF-INASSA Group.

“NSF-INASSA’s, NSF-Envirolab’s and NSF-Servisanea’s excellent reputation in both national and international markets for testing accuracy, turn-around time and customer service is a perfect complement to NSF International’s independence and integrity,” said Mrs. Catter. “Together, we will continue to help improve food and environmental safety and quality in Latin America.”

This acquisition expands NSF International’s reach in Latin America to include NSF-INASSA Group’s established seafood and pharma markets. Both NSF and INASSA Group clients benefit, as NSF’s global clients will now have access to INASSA Group’s fish/seafood and pharma services, and INASSA Group’s clients will gain access to NSF’s wider range of pharma, seafood and other services. It also provides additional laboratory services for NSF customers from this expanded presence in Latin America.

Fish Meal, Fish Oil and Seafood Services. NSF-INASSA Group’s 30 years of expertise in fish and seafood inspection, sanitation, container fumigation and analytic services complements NSF’s global seafood programs, which include NSF Seafood operations in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

In addition to its analytical services, NSF-INASSA Group established NSF-Servisanea to provide fumigation and general sanitation for property, buildings, cleaning tanks and cisterns as well as to offer sanitation consultation and training. NSF-Envirolab was created to perform water, soil and air analysis as well as environmental impact studies, statements and analysis. NSF-INASSA Group is also approved to provide several types of audits for the fish/seafood industry, including fish meal and fish oil plants (IFFO-RS) and chain of custody (CoC IFFO) standards. NSF-INASSA Group is authorized on behalf of Product Authentication International (PAI) to provide Feed Materials Assurance Scheme (FEMAS) audits and is the only business accredited in Peru to certify fish meal, fish oil and other feed ingredients exported to the EU.

Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Services. Peruvian law now requires imported pharmaceuticals and medical devices to be tested before they are released into Peru or used in a Peruvian hospital. The testing includes active pharmaceutical ingredients, microbiology and chemical testing. NSF-INASSA Group is one of only two national laboratories in Peru to be authorized by the National Health Service for the Quality Control of Medicines. This expands the geographic reach of NSF’s analytic and testing capabilities including over-the-counter medicines (OTCs), dietary supplements and medical devices. NSF also offers GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) audits in Latin America to the pharmaceutical, medical device and dietary supplement industries.

Drinking Water Distribution Services. NSF-INASSA Group extends NSF’s leadership in testing and certification of drinking water distribution products, such as plastic pipe, as the market leader in Peru. It also is authorized as a support company in Official Sanitary and Quality Certification for water distribution pipes. This is a perfect complement to NSF’s global testing and certification for water distribution systems, pipes and components, and residential and commercial water filtration systems.

“NSF International’s acquisition of the INASSA Group will expand the services we are able to provide to NSF’s customers in Peru and Latin America. In particular, NSF’s seafood, pharmaceutical/medical device and drinking water product customers will benefit significantly from NSF-INASSA Group’s analytical technical expertise and accredited laboratories,” said Kevan Lawlor, President and CEO, NSF International.

“Additionally, other NSF-INASSA Group clients and companies in the Peruvian and Latin American market will benefit from NSF services in the areas of food safety, health sciences, sustainability and wastewater systems testing, certification, auditing and training. This further affirms NSF International’s commitment to providing our clients with expanded global service capabilities and resources.”

Accreditations. Along with NSF’s more than 50 internationally recognized accreditations, the NSF- INASSA Group maintains several national and international accreditations. Nationally, it is accredited by the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Intellectual Property Protection (INDECOPI) and to ISO 17025 for testing, ISO 17020 for inspection management, ISO 14001 for environmental management and ISO Guide 65 for product certification. Internationally, NSF-INASSA Group is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC).

Contact sales: Raul Juscamaita Medina at rjuscamaita@nsf.org or 511.372.6638

U.S. media contact: Greta Houlahan at houlahan@nsf.org or 734.913.5723

Peru media contact: Ana Torvisco at anator@creativaempresarial.com or 511.222.3695 anexo 20

To view news release in Spanish, visit NSF’s website.

Photos: NSF USA Headquarters and NSF-INASSA Logo

About NSF: NSF International, headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI, USA, has a 68-year history in protecting public health and safety, and operates global seafood, food safety and pharmaceutical/medical divisions (www.nsf.org). NSF Seafood programs and personnel have an unsurpassed reputation for technical and scientific expertise and service in the seafood industry. NSF Seafood conducts product inspections, provides facility auditing services to the Marine Stewardship Council Chain of Custody certification and performs audits for the Global Aquaculture Alliance under the Best Aquaculture Practices Standard.

The NSF Global Food Division provides expertise and accredited services across all supply chain sectors, from agriculture, produce, processing, distribution and dairy, to seafood, retail and restaurants. Services include Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) certification (SQF, BRC, GLOBALG.A.P., FSSC, IFS), plus expert auditing, consulting and technical services, HACCP validation and inspection, and organic and gluten-free certification through QAI (Quality Assurance International). NSF is also the leading certifier of foodservice equipment, nonfood compounds and bottled water/beverages.

NSF Health Sciences has more than 25 years of pharmaceutical, medical device and dietary supplement expertise and includes NSF Pharmalytica, a GLP and GMP contract laboratory, FDA-registered and DEA-licensed; NSF-DBA, a consulting, auditing and training company; Becker & Associates, which helps clients meet FDA compliance guidelines and offers global quality systems; NSF Reference Standards, which supplies pharmaceutical secondary reference standards traceable to USP and EP; and the NSF Dietary Supplements Certification Program, which tests and certifies supplements and provides GMP registrations.

The NSF Water Division certifies products that come into contact with drinking water such as plumbing components, water treatment chemicals and drinking water filters, as well as pool and spa equipment. NSF led the development of the American national standards for all materials and products that treat or come in contact with drinking water. In 1990, the U.S. EPA replaced its own drinking water product advisory program with these NSF standards. Today, all major plumbing codes require certification to NSF standards for pipes and plumbing components in commercial and residential buildings.

Additional NSF International services include management systems registrations delivered through NSF International Strategic Registrations (NSF-ISR); environmental and sustainability claims verification services through NSF Sustainability, and training and education programs through NSF Training and Education.

SOURCE NSF International