Covance investing $14M to set up food safety lab - NJ Biz.com Drug development and food tester Covance Inc., in Princeton, said Tuesday it will creat

Covance investing $14M to set up food safety lab - NJ Biz.com

Drug development and food tester Covance Inc., in Princeton, said Tuesday it will create a food safety and nutritional chemistry laboratory in Battle Creek, Mich., investing $14 million to create a facility to conduct microbial food-safety testing and other types of examinations for clients in the region.

Kellogg Co. will be an anchor client at the facility, Covance said. The consumer food maker and Covance entered into a $42 million, seven-year services contract to conduct various testing at the lab.

Covance said the forthcoming lab will be affiliated with the National Center for Food Protection, in Battle Creek. The company said it will acquire and renovate a 30,000-square-foot building for the lab, which it expects to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2010.

The company said it expects to receive $4.3 million in total incentives from the city and from the state of Michigan. Covance said the lab will create 40 jobs over time.