Bulgaria and Japan to finish joint R&D lab for probiotic foods by year‑end

The state-owned Bulgarian company EL B Bulgaricum and Japan's Meiji Corporation are building a joint research and development laboratory that will focus on functional foods, probiotics and new yoghurt cultures. The facility is slated to be completed by the end of the year, earlier than the original 2026 schedule.

Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced the project, while Vice‑Prime Minister and Economy Minister Alexander Pulov pledged accelerated procedures and full state support. Meiji President Bunjirō Yao affirmed the partnership’s aim to expand Bulgarian yoghurt into Japanese and other Asian markets. The collaboration, rooted in a relationship dating back to 1973, is intended to boost scientific research, technology transfer and industrial cooperation between the two nations.