Mérieux NutriSciences invests in ZINIA

Mérieux NutriSciences acquired Zínia Ensaios Laboratoriais, the food testing laboratory based in southern Brazil, in a deal announced on 4 February 2026. At the time, Zínia employed 25 people and ran its laboratory in Joinville, with logistics and sales operations in Florianópolis, in the state of Santa Catarina, its work complying with the ANVISA IN 161 standard set by the Brazilian health regulator. The purchase added to Mérieux NutriSciences’ existing operations in southern Brazil, including its site in Maringá, in Paraná, improving its geographic coverage and shortening turnaround times by placing laboratories closer to the main food production areas and optimising sample logistics. Eugenio Luporini, executive vice-president for Latin America and managing director for Brazil, said the deal reflected the group’s intention to offer broader coverage and faster results while staying close to customers’ operations. It extended a build-up begun with the acquisition of Bioagri in 2011, which had taken the group to 18 laboratories across Brazil and more than 1,000 employees in the country. Andreas Boebel, chief executive of Zínia, stayed with the business.