Loading...

LB Bulgaricum and Meiji Establish a World-Class Joint Research Laboratory in Bulgaria

LB Bulgaricum and Meiji Establish a World-Class Joint Research Laboratory in Bulgaria

In the presence of the Minister of Economy and Industry Dr. Petko Nikolov and Japan’s Ambassador to Bulgaria, His Excellency Hisashi Michigami, the Executive Director of the Bulgarian state dairy processing company LB Bulgaricum, Zhivko Zhivkov, and the representative of the Japanese corporation Meiji signed a 10-year agreement for strategic partnership and the establishment of the first joint research laboratory in Sofia in the field of lactic acid bacteria. The agreement outlines collaborative research and development efforts to be carried out at the new research center by teams from both countries.

The main goal of the LB Bulgaricum-Meiji Laboratory is to further study the beneficial components of Bulgarian starter cultures and to seek new scientific evidence about the health benefits of Bulgarian yogurt as a product.

The research will primarily focus on the bacterial species Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. These species originate from Bulgaria, have been isolated within the Republic of Bulgaria, and are exclusively owned by the country. The new scientific center will utilize state-of-the-art equipment and cutting-edge methods to explore the health benefits of Bulgarian yogurt, a product considered a national treasure.

“We anticipate that the joint research center between LB Bulgaricum and Meiji will become a foundation for creating extremely valuable innovations for human health and longevity,” Minister Nikolov commented. He emphasized that the signed agreement will improve the successful collaboration between the companies, which will carry on in the future.

LB Bulgaricum and Meiji have built a partnership spanning over 50 years. This collaboration has enabled the production of yogurt with Bulgarian starter culture in Japan for decades, under the license of the Bulgarian national dairy company.

LB Bulgaricum and Meiji Establish a World-Class Joint Research Laboratory in Bulgaria

“This is an important step forward not just for our company, but also for the Bulgarian dairy industry as it strengthens its presence in international markets. I want to thank our partners at Meiji for the productive discussions – we are committed to our shared goal of promoting Bulgarian yogurt globally,” said Zhivko Zhivkov, CEO of LB Bulgaricum.

The signing of the agreement for the joint research laboratory is seen by both parties as confirmation and continuation of their successful partnership so far.

See the video here.

Share