(Food-Beverage-News.Com, August 06, 2019 ) The heavy metal testing market is estimated to be valued at USD 2.53 Billion in 2017 and is projected to reach USD 3.65 Billion at a CAGR of 7.6% from 2017 to 2022. This market is driven by the increasing occurrences of heavy metals in food & water. The use of polluted water in farming and toxic pesticides or fertilizers results in the entry of heavy metals in the food chain. Such incidences are increasing due to the growth in industrial activities and demand for growing more food crops in limited land area. The growing incidences of food contaminated with heavy metals is increasing the incidences of outbreaks among consumers. This has resulted in an increase in the demand for heavy metal testing in food and water.
The key market players adopted strategies such as expansions & investments, new product, service, & technology launches, acquisitions, agreements, collaborations, joint ventures, and partnerships to meet the growing demand for heavy metal testing.
SGS (Switzerland), Eurofins (Luxembourg), Intertek (UK), TÜV SÜD (Germany), ALS Limited (Australia), and Merieux NutriSciences (US) are the major players in this market. Other active players in the industry include LGC Group (UK), AsureQuality (New Zealand), Microbac Laboratories (US), EMSL Analytical (US), IFP Institut Für Produktqualität (Germany), and OMIC USA (US).
SGS is one of the leading heavy metal testing service providers, owing to its strong global presence and service offerings. The company focused on increasing its geographic presence through acquisitions and expansions to meet market demand between 2012 and 2017. In July 2017, SGS opened its new food safety testing laboratory in Moscow, Russia in a new 600 square meter space. This facility is equipped to offer various food testing services such as chromatography, microbiology, spectrometry & radiology, and physical & chemical testing. This facility is ISO 17025 accredited and licensed for microbiological testing by Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing. In December 2016, SGS acquired Laagrima (Morocco), an ISO 170025 accredited food testing company. This acquisition was strategized to expand the company’s portfolio and market in Morocco and to increase its revenue.
Eurofins is another leading player in the market due to its wide range of heavy metal testing services. It capitalizes on a portfolio of 130,000 reliable analytical methods that allow it to offer services that characterize the safety, identity, purity, composition, authenticity, and origin of products & biological substances. It has adopted expansions and acquisitions as key strategies to increase its geographic network. In March 2017, Eurofins acquired Gözlem Gıda Kontrol ve Araştırma Laboratuvarları (Turkey), a leading food testing laboratory in Turkey with major clientele in the country. Gözlem has a network of about 13 client site laboratories in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir.
