Neogen obtains USDA approval, launches new test

LANSING, Mich., July 18, 2005 — Neogen Corporation’s (Nasdaq: NEOG) lateral flow test to accurately screen corn for aflatoxin, a natural toxin produced by molds, has been approved by the USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) for official testing in the national grain inspection system.

Neogen’s GIPSA-approved Reveal® for Aflatoxin is the easiest and quickest test available for aflatoxin, the most widely regulated mycotoxin in the world. After a simple extraction, negative sample results can be read in less than 2 minutes.

Neogen also launched Reveal for DON (i.e., deoxynivalenol or vomitoxin). Reveal for DON is now the easiest and quickest test available for DON, another mold toxin of major concern to the grain industry. After a simple water extraction, all a tester has to do is immerse a test strip into the sample and place it in a reader. In a format similar to a home pregnancy test, sample results can be read in only 5 minutes.

“Neogen’s tests for mycotoxins in grain have set the gold standard for many years. These improvements use the newest technology to serve our customers even better,” said Ed Bradley, Neogen’s vice president of Food Safety Sales and Marketing. “GIPSA’s approval allows regulators to add our improved test to the expanding list of Neogen’s products they can rely on to ensure the safety of our worldwide food and animal feed supply.

“The quicker Reveal test format will be especially useful with the looming harvest, when trucks and rail cars are lined up at grain elevators and feed mills, and speed is of the essence,” Bradley added.

To complement its expanding line of simple test strips and devices, and greatly simplify accurate record keeping, Neogen has also introduced its Reveal AccuScan System—the only lateral flow test reader available on the market. The Reveal AccuScan System consists of a lateral flow test reader combined with a personal data assistant (PDA), and intuitive data management computer software.

When used with Neogen’s Reveal® AccuScan™ lateral flow test reader, Reveal for DON provides semi-quantitative results at 0, 0.5, 1, and 2 parts per million (ppm).

Neogen Corporation develops and markets products and services dedicated to food and animal safety. The Company’s Food Safety Division markets dehydrated culture media, and diagnostic test kits to detect foodborne bacteria, natural toxins, genetic modifications, food allergens, ruminant by-products, drug residues, plant diseases and sanitation concerns.