BUSINESS DESCRIPTION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

BUSINESS DESCRIPTION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]

Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful lives

Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation of plant and equipment is calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows:

Buildings	15-25years
Equipment	3-12 years

Unamortized goodwill allocated to reportable segments

The Company had unamortized goodwill in the amount of $28,515 at December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, subject to the provisions of ASC 350.  Unamortized goodwill is allocated to the Company's reportable segments as follows:

	2012		2011
Specialty Products	$	7,160	$	7,160
Food, Pharma and Nutrition		8,393		8,393
Animal Nutrition and Health		12,962		12,962
Total	$	28,515	$	28,515

Intangible assets, estimated useful lives

The following intangible assets with finite lives are stated at cost and are amortized on a straight-line basis over the following estimated useful lives:

	Amortization Period
	(in years)
Customer lists		10
Regulatory registration costs		5 - 10
Patents & trade secrets		15 - 17
Trademarks & trade names		17
Other		5 - 10