Seminis, Inc., the world's leading developer, producer and marketer of vegetable and fruit seeds, announced today that its germination testing lab in Holland has been accredited by the Netherlands Inspection Service for Horticulture, known as Naktuinbouw. The lab can now issue testing certificates needed for export and other requirements based on in-house results.

"The accreditation by the Dutch agency will speed the delivery of vegetable seeds to our customers, reducing delays and the repetition of using outside labs to duplicate our results," said Bruno Ferrari, Seminis president and chief executive officer. "This achievement is a badge of honor in the seed business and a vote of confidence in our people, who continue to find innovative ways to improve the quality of our products and service."

According to Seminis, its Dutch germination lab completes about 30,000 tests per year on seeds destined for growers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India and Pakistan. Germination test results provide growers with one of the most important quality measurements of seeds, and most governments require that the results to be included on package labels. High germination percentages are indicative of health, vigor and the overall quality of the seeds. All commercially sold seed by Seminis is tested every six months.

In order to become a Naktuinbouw Accredited Laboratory (NAL), seed companies need to show that their test results are reliable, reproducible and independent from commercial influence and pressure.

The accreditation process is similar to the National Seed Health System in the United States, and once completed, lasts for three years.

Seminis operates 21 quality assurance labs in 12 countries. The labs conduct more than 475,000 tests annually. In 2003, the Seminis seed health lab in The Netherlands was accredited by Naktuinbouw, and last year, the company's seed health lab near Sacramento, California received a comparable accreditation by the U.S. National Seed Health System.

Seminis is the world's leading developer, producer and marketer of vegetable seeds. Its products are designed to reduce the need for agricultural chemicals, increase crop yield, reduce spoilage, offer longer shelf life, and create better tasting foods and foods with better nutritional content. Seminis has established a worldwide presence and global distribution network that spans 150 countries and territories.