Taconic announced that its Taconic Europe A/S operation in Denmark has received full accreditation from AAALAC International, making it the first and only European Union commercial rat and mouse breeder to receive AAALAC accreditation. AAALAC (Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care) is the prestigious industry organization that promotes the humane treatment of animals in science through voluntary accreditation and assessment programs.
Taconic Europe A/S - which includes five separate production facilities, located in Bomholt, Tornbjerg, Hallingore, Ry and Laven, Denmark - recently received AAALAC accreditation. Taconic now has a total of ten production sites fully accredited by AAALAC, including all of its U.S. production facilities: Germantown, New York, Albany, New York, Rockville, Maryland, Cambridge City, Indiana and Oxnard, California. Taconic was one of the first suppliers to be accredited by AAALAC International in 1969.
"Taconic is especially pleased that our continued, unwavering commitment to quality has been recognized internationally with the accreditation of Taconic Europe," said Todd Little, President of Taconic. "By meeting the rigorous requirements of AAALAC, our Denmark facilities have demonstrated the exceptionally high quality standards that Taconic is known for throughout the research community."
In addition to attaining AAALAC accreditation, Taconic Europe A/S has been ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified since 2007. ISO 9001 is one of the ISO 9000 standards, a family of quality management system standards maintained by the International Organization for Standardization. ISO 9001 requirements cover crucial quality components such as procedures, process monitoring, recordkeeping, quality output, and continual improvement. ISO 14000 is a set of environmental management standards designed to help minimize an organization's impact on the environment.
About Taconic
Taconic Farms, Inc. was founded in 1952 as a family-owned business in New York's Hudson River Valley. Since then, the company has become one of the largest laboratory rodent providers in the world with a reputation for consistently producing high quality, well-defined rats and mice. Taconic's expertise in the custom design and generation of genetically modified mice, mouse and rat breeding, barrier systems, genetics and animal health supports researchers focused on drug development using in vivo models. Taconic has six breeding facilities and three service laboratories in the USA and Europe, a staff of over 1,000, and a commitment to technological innovation. Additional information about Taconic is available through its corporate website, www.taconic.com.