January 8, 2009 1:15 AM CST – (Chicago, USA) Intertek, a leading international provider of quality and safety services to a wide range of industries, today announced its acquisition of the food facility auditing operations of RQA, Inc. (RQA), a global leader in strategic product development, quality assurance, crisis management and recall services for consumer products.

RQA provides a broad range of food services to meet the unique needs of clients across the globe including facility audits on food safety to assess compliance with client's existing quality assurance programs and/or regulatory requirements, conducting comprehensive process evaluations, and developing innovative quality assurance systems including both in-depth documentation and operating manuals.  This unique acquisition will enable the bundling of food auditing services for clients worldwide - fusing together the reputation and accreditation of RQA as a preeminent leader in food auditing services for North America with the expertise and existing relationships Intertek has with recognized Certification Bodies worldwide.

Under this new collaboration, Intertek will perform an array of audits including Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point (HACCP), Quality Systems, Risk Assessment, Grocery Manufacturer's Association (GMA-SAFE), Client Protocol, Due Diligence, and Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) audits to provide the one-stop-shop global food retailers, manufacturers, distributors and suppliers alike seek to gain both an industry competitive advantage and essentially add value to their products, processes, systems, and brands.

Intertek has been successfully engaged in various business endeavours with RQA since 2010 in order to offer enhanced US market solutions for food safety standard compliance.  Dr. Jochen Zoller, President of Food Services for Intertek, explains, "As the rising demand for food auditing services continues to grow in the US and globally, we are making food auditing resources available to clients across the globe more centralized and accessible by housing all solutions under one roof at Intertek."

Larry Platt, President of RQA Inc, adds, "RQA is pleased to embark on this journey together to improve auditing services worldwide for food retailers, manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers in direct response to an increase in food regulations worldwide."  This unique acquisition will offer clients the exclusive opportunity to have all of their food safety and food auditing needs provided for by one global partner, and presents the opportunity to bundle these audits with social responsibility, health and environmental audits.

Contacts
For further information, please contact:

Europe:  Heidi Varjonen - Marketing Manager Germany, Intertek
Tel: + 49 711 27311 445 – heidi.varjonen@intertek.com 

Rest-of-World:  Julie Naujokas – Director of Marketing & Communications, Intertek Consumer Goods
Tel: +1 630 481 3114 - julie.naujokas@intertek.com

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About Intertek
Intertek (ITRK.L) is a leading provider of quality and safety solutions serving a wide range of industries around the world. From auditing and inspection, to testing, quality assurance and certification, Intertek people are dedicated to adding value to customers' products and processes, supporting their success in the global marketplace. Intertek has the expertise, resources and global reach to support its customers through its network of more than 1,000 laboratories and offices and over 23,000 people in 110 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.intertek.com.

About RQA, Inc.
Founded in 1989, RQA is a global leader in strategic product development, quality assurance, crisis management, facility auditing, and recall services for the consumer products industry. RQA supports a broad range of functions including marketing, research and development, quality assurance, operations, logistics, consumer care, risk management, legal and regulatory affairs. More than 10,000 professional field personnel in over 100 countries worldwide perform comprehensive services. RQA is headquartered in Darien, IL (Chicago), with regional operations offices in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Tampa, Toronto, Panama, Sao Paulo, London, Sydney, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
For more information, visit www.rqa-inc.com.