Veterinary Diagnostics: Food Testing Suffers in EU

What goes up must go down, and the intensity of concern over animal testing in the European Union nations led to impressive gains in the food animal diagnostics markets in the last decade.  This has, as of recent years, slowed down a bit.    So notes Kalorama analyst Emil Salazar in our most recent edition of Veterinary Diagnostics.

"Strong rates of growth in the historical food animal diagnostics market were diluted late in 2008-2012 by declining TSE testing volumes, restrained public expenditures on animal disease control, economic recession, and recent fiscal weakness in the primary European market."

Even for the most important food safety concerns, there is still a limit to how much testing.  Testing in any market, human or animal, is never done at 100% of potential testing, and every diagnostic manufactuer plans accordingly.   Several diagnostic companies, including a Big Six but then a dozen other concerns, are still expanding in animal diagnostics and finding alternative markets to compete in than the highly regulated human diagnostics market.  The report notes growth  in the US in emerging markets, and in the pet animal market.  The report covers all aspects of veterinary diagnostics including reagent and POC sales as well as instrument sales.  Trends in pet ownership and pet spending are noted in the report, as well as food animal trends driving the market.