Strategic Diagnostics Inc. today announced that it has entered into a laboratory licensing agreement with Japan Oilstuff Inspector's Corporation (JOSIC) for the Company's GMO Check (TM) Soya Test Kits, used for the detection of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in grain and food ingredients. The agreement gives JOSIC a non-exclusive laboratory certification for the test kits within Japan.

JOSIC is the leading Japanese inspection organization for the analysis of imported oilstuffs and raw agricultural products and serves the major trading companies and oilseed crushing companies in Japan. Founded in 1952, JOSIC is licensed by both the Japanese Ministry of  Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Transport as an official laboratory to conduct analyses of imported products such as oilstuffs, soybeans, canola and other seeds and grains. In 1975, the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare has licensed JOSIC to do mandatory food safety testing.

According to Mr. Mitsuo Kurashige, Laboratory Manager, "The addition of the Strategic Diagnostics test kit allows us to offer our customers the rapid turnaround at each of our laboratory locations within the Japanese ports. We can offer the GMO Check (TM) Soya Test Kit for the quantitative determination of genetically modified organisms in raw agricultural commodity (soybeans) to importers along with our other quality checks that we have performed over the years. Since MAFF has established the preliminary labeling regulations, we feel that we can now enhance services offered to our existing customer base.''

The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), as part of a process to enable labeling of GM foods, will require that an Identity Preservation Handling (IPH) program be in place to ensure that the GM content of raw agricultural products is known. This certification process will allow labeling of qualified foods as GMO free. In the absence of this certification, foods must be labeled as containing GMOs. MAFF further identified immunoassay as one of the
acceptable testing technologies for use with IPH, based partially on the availability of SDI's GMO Check (TM) Soya Test Kit.

According to Richard C. Birkmeyer, President and CEO of SDI, "We believe the partnership between SDI and JOSIC will be very beneficial for both organizations. JOSIC will now be able to offer their customers the fastest, most cost-effective solution to facilitate compliance requirements with the GMO food labeling regulations as they are enacted in Japan. Additionally, the selection of JOSIC also allows SDI to benefit from JOSIC's relationships with the Japanese
importers and instantly gives us a strong presence to serve all of the Japanese ports that move U.S. grain.''

SDI is a leading provider of biotechnology-based diagnostic tests for a broad range of agricultural, industrial and water-treatment applications. Through its antibody division, Strategic BioSolutions, the Company also provides antibody and immunoreagent research and development services. SDI test kits are produced in a variety of formats suitable for field and laboratory use, offering advantages of accuracy, cost-effectiveness, portability, and rapid response. GMO Check (TM) is a pending trademark for SDI.

Company news release
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