Canada's Largest Beef Producing Province Selects Bio-Rad Rapid BSE Test

Canada's Largest Beef Producing Province Selects Bio-Rad Rapid BSE Test
Alberta Initiates New Surveillance Program at Enhanced Provincial Laboratory 


HERCULES, Calif., Feb. 13  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.
(AMEX: BIO; BIO.B), amultinational manufacturer and distributor of life science
research products and clinical diagnostics, announced today that the Province of
Alberta in Canada has chosen Bio-Rad's automated TeSeE(R) test for use in its
enhanced BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) surveillance program. The
largest beef producing and finishing province in Canada, Alberta's federally
regulated beef industry processed 2.1 million head of cattle, or 68 percent of
the Canadian total, in 2003.

"We look forward to supporting Alberta in its BSE surveillance program," said
Brad Crutchfield, Bio-Rad's Vice President of Life Science. "With our experience
working with more than 500 labs in 25 countries faced with the discovery of BSE,
we stand ready to assist Alberta's government in the development of a world
class animal disease and food safety surveillance system."

With the announcement of the selection of Bio-Rad as a testing partner, the
Alberta government noted that Bio-Rad's automated TSE (Transmissible Spongiform
Encephalopathy) tests for BSE in cattle, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in deer
and elk and Scrapie in sheep and goats are all internationally recognized by the
Office International Des Epizooties (OIE). Alberta has a mandatory CWD testing
policy for all farmed cervids (elk and deer), and performed more than 10,000 CWD
tests in 2003.

Bio-Rad's TeSeE(R) test kit runs on an automated robotics platform that speeds
sample preparation, enabling laboratories to provide faster results. The testing
platform can process up to 1,000 samples in an eight-hour time period, provides
the highest level of sensitivity in a BSE screening method and will produce
results in just four hours. Bio-Rad's BSE test is the most widely used test in
the world.

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (http://www.bio-rad.com/) is a multinational
manufacturer and distributor of life science research products and clinical
diagnostics. It is based in Hercules, California, and serves more than 70,000
research and industry customers worldwide through a network of more than 30
wholly owned subsidiary offices.

Various statements made within this press release may constitute
"forward-looking statements" for purposes of the Securities and Exchange
Commission's "safe harbor" provisions under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The
forward-looking statements contained herein involve risks and uncertainties that
could cause results to differ materially from the Company's expectations. 

DATASOURCE: Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.



CONTACT:  In Canada, Susan Berg, Corporate Communications for Bio-Rad

Laboratories, Inc., [phone], or ; or Jackie

Asante of Optimum Public Relations, [phone], or ,

for Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.



Web site:  http://www.bio-rad.com/ 

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