Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC)
Exhibit 99.1

             Balchem Corporation Announces 1st Quarter 2008 Results
             ------------------------------------------------------
                          New Hampton, NY - May 8, 2008

                       BALCHEM CORPORATION (NASDAQ: BCPC)
       reported as follows (unaudited) for the period ended March 31, 2008
                ($000 Omitted Except for Net Earnings Per Share)

                      For the Three Months Ended March 31,
                      ------------------------------------

                                                       2008        2007
                                                     --------    --------

      Net sales                                      $ 56,861    $ 27,599
      Gross profit                                     13,483       9,741
      Operating expenses                                6,079       4,399
                                                     --------    --------
      Earnings from operations                          7,404       5,342
      Other expense                                      (213)        (28)
                                                     --------    --------
      Earnings before income tax expense                7,191       5,314
      Income tax expense                                2,550       1,873
                                                     --------    --------
      Net earnings                                   $  4,641    $  3,441
                                                     ========    ========

      Basic net earnings per common share            $   0.26    $   0.19
      Diluted net earnings per common share          $   0.25    $   0.19

     Shares used in the calculation of diluted net
     earnings per common share                         18,853      18,385

New Record Quarter Results for Sales and Earnings
         Record net sales of $56.9  million were  achieved for the quarter ended
         ----------------
March 31, 2008.  This is an increase of 106% above the $27.6  million  result of
the  prior  year  comparable  quarter  and was  derived  from both  organic  and
acquisition  growth.  Record net earnings for the quarter were $4.6 million,  an
                      -------------------
increase of $1.2  million,  or 34.9% as compared with the same period last year.
The $4.6 million in net earnings generated diluted net earnings per common share
of $0.25 per share for the first  quarter of 2008 versus $0.19 per share for the
prior year, an increase of 31.6%.

         Effective  with the  quarter  ending  March 31,  2008,  the Company has
realigned its business segment reporting structure to more appropriately reflect
the  internal  management  of the  businesses,  largely due to the impact of the
recent  acquisitions  of 2007.  Segment  information  from  prior  year  periods
contained  herein has been revised to reflect the comparative  business  segment
reporting.  The Company will  continue to report three  segments:  ARC Specialty
Products;  Food, Pharma and Nutrition;  and Animal Nutrition and Health. Changes
to the  reporting  segments  are as follows:  Chelated  minerals  and  specialty
nutritional products for the animal health industry, formerly reported as a part
of the  Encapsulated/Nutritional  Products  segment,  are now combined  with the
Choline business (formerly BCP Ingredients) into a consolidated Animal Nutrition
and Health  segment.  The  Encapsulated/Nutritional  Products  segment  has been
renamed  Food,  Pharma and  Nutrition,  focusing on human  health.  There are no
changes to the ARC Specialty Products segment.

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Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC)                                              2


         Detailing  the first quarter of 2008,  the Animal  Nutrition and Health
segment achieved record  quarterly sales of $39.1 million.  This result reflects
sales  derived  from the  acquisitions  of the  customer  list of Chinook  Group
Limited ("Chinook") and certain assets of Akzo Nobel Chemicals S.p.A.  ("Akzo"),
both completed in 2007. These acquisitions contributed approximately $25 million
of the revenue  increase over the prior year. Our specialty animal nutrition and
health products,  targeted  predominantly for ruminant animals,  now included in
this segment,  realized approximately 31.5% growth over the 2007 Q1 results with
strong sales of Reashure(R), Nitroshure(TM), Niashure(TM) and Chelated Minerals.
Earnings  from  operations  for this segment  improved  55.1% to $3.3 million as
compared to $2.1 million in the prior year  comparable  quarter.  This segment's
current quarterly earnings result includes non-cash amortization expense of $0.7
million  related  to  the  Chinook   acquisition.   This  segment  was  impacted
unfavorably  by the  continued  rise in raw  material  costs,  and  while we did
experience  some  relief  towards  the end of the  first  quarter,  overall  raw
material costs have stayed firm. Sales of the Food, Pharma and Nutrition segment
were $9.3 million,  an increase of 28.8% from the prior year comparable quarter.
This segment growth was organic, with continued strength in sales of human grade
choline,  domestic and  international  food, as well as pharma calcium products.
Earnings from operations for this segment improved to $1.5 million,  as compared
to $0.3 million in the prior year comparable quarter. The ARC Specialty Products
segment  generated  quarterly  sales of $8.5  million,  a 4.8% increase over the
prior  year  quarter,  principally  from  increased  volumes of  ethylene  oxide
products.  Earnings in this segment  declined  $0.3 million  principally  due to
increases in the cost of  petro-chemical  raw materials and increased  operating
expenses which impacted all business segments.

         Gross profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2007 was $13.5 million,
an increase  of 38.4%  compared  to $9.7  million for the prior year  comparable
period. The consolidated gross margin, as a percent of sales, at 23.7%, declined
in  direct  correlation  to  the  proportional   increase  of  the  above  noted
acquisition  related sales.  Despite the implementation of price increases,  and
slight  improvement  sequentially  over the fourth quarter,  we were not able to
fully recover the cost increases in certain petro-chemical raw materials,  which
continued or trended up within the quarter.  On this note,  our gross margin was
lower than  expected  in both the  Animal  Nutrition  and  Health and  Specialty
Products segments,  but the company anticipates improved gross margin results in
the near term. Operating (Selling,  R&D, and Administrative)  expenses increased
38.2% to $6.1 million, as compared to $4.4 million for the prior year comparable
quarter, but decreased as a percentage of sales to 10.7%, down from 15.9% in the
prior year quarter.  This increase in operating  expenses,  over the prior year,
was primarily due to additional  amortization  and selling  expenses  associated
with the  Chinook  and  Akzo  acquisitions,  higher  research  expenses  for the
pharmaceutical initiatives, and higher G&A expenses due to increased audit, tax,
accounting and non-cash stock-based compensation recognition.

         Balance sheet ratios and our cash flow  continue to be strong.  Late in
the first quarter of 2007,  we borrowed $39 million;  the proceeds of which were
used to complete the funding of the Chinook and Akzo acquisitions.  At March 31,
2008,  our  outstanding  borrowings  were $25.8 million  reflecting  accelerated
payments of $11.0 million. We are well positioned to continue with an aggressive
debt reduction program.


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Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC)                                              3


Outlook
         Commenting on 2008,  Dino A. Rossi,  President and CEO of Balchem said,
"The  integrations  of the 2007  acquisitions  have gone well. This record first
quarter result does not yet reflect our full  expectations of the  acquisitions,
but they are  contributing  accretively  to our earnings,  even with the earlier
noted raw material  cost  increases and the high level of  amortization  expense
associated with the acquisition accounting. Rising raw material costs are likely
to continue  being a  challenge  in the near term.  We continue to take  pricing
actions,  as  appropriate,  to lessen  the  impact of these  raw  material  cost
increases;  however,  actions  taken by the  Company in the first  quarter,  due
largely to their timing, did not offset all cost increases.

         We continue to see  improved  results of our calcium  products  for the
pharmaceutical  and OTC markets,  with a couple of new calcium product  launches
scheduled for the second  quarter.  The Animal  Nutrition and Health  segment is
realizing  excellent  global  revenue  growth  in both the  specialty  and basic
choline  product lines.  Our  pharmaceutical  research  efforts will continue to
generate milestone  payments  throughout the balance of the year. We expect 2008
to be another year of continuing  quality double digit improvements in sales and
earnings, as we leverage our production capacity and business infrastructure."

Quarterly Conference Call
         A quarterly  conference  call will be held on Thursday,  May 8, 2008 at
2:00 PM Eastern Time (ET) to review first quarter 2008  results.  Dino A. Rossi,
President and CEO, and Frank Fitzpatrick, CFO, will host the call. We invite you
to listen to the call by dialing  toll-free (877) 407-8289 five minutes prior to
the scheduled  start time of the conference  call.  The conference  call will be
available for digital replay through Wednesday,  May 14. To access the replay of
the  conference  call,  dial (877)  660-6853,  use account  #298 and  conference
ID#283740.  This press release,  and its accompanying  financial exhibits,  will
also  be  available  on  the  company  website,  www.balchem.com,  prior  to the
                                                 ---------------
conference call.

Segment Information
         Balchem Corporation consists of three business segments:  ARC Specialty
Products,  Food,  Pharma and Nutrition and Animal Nutrition and Health.  Through
ARC Specialty Products, Balchem provides specialty-packaged chemicals for use in
healthcare and other industries. The Food, Pharma and Nutrition segment provides
proprietary  microencapsulation,  granulation and  agglomeration  solutions to a
variety  of  applications  in  the  human  food,  pharmaceutical  and  nutrition
marketplaces.  The Animal Nutrition and Health segment manufactures and supplies
products to numerous animal health markets and certain derivative  products into
industrial applications.

Forward-Looking Statements
         This  release  contains  forward-looking   statements,   which  reflect
Balchem's  expectation or belief concerning future events that involve risks and
uncertainties.  Balchem can give no assurance that the expectations reflected in
forward-looking  statements  will prove correct and various  factors could cause
results to differ  materially from Balchem's  expectations,  including risks and
factors  identified  in Balchem's  annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2007. Forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by
the above cautionary statement. Balchem assumes no duty to update its outlook or
other forward-looking statements as of any future date.

Contact:  Karin McCaffery, Telephone:   845-326-5635


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Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC)                                              4


Selected Financial Data
($ in 000's)

Business Segment Net Sales:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Three Months Ended
                                                      March 31
                                                 2008          2007
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARC Specialty Products                        $    8,450    $   8,061
Food, Pharma and Nutrition                         9,289        7,212
Animal Nutrition and Health                       39,122       12,326
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                         $   56,861    $  27,599
=====================================================================


Business Segment Earnings (Loss):
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Three Months Ended
                                                      March 31,
                                                 2008          2007
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARC Specialty Products                         $   2,598    $   2,903
Food, Pharma and Nutrition                         1,528          326
Animal Nutrition & Health                          3,278        2,113
Interest and other expense                          (213)         (28)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                          $   7,191    $   5,314
=====================================================================



Selected Balance Sheet Items
                                              March 31,  December 31,
                                                2008         2007
                                                ----         ----
Cash                                         $    3,922   $    2,307
Accounts Receivable                              29,838       29,640
Inventories                                      18,841       15,680
Other Current Assets                              3,999        4,842
                                             ----------   ----------
Total Current Assets                             56,600       52,469

Property, Plant, & Equipment (net)               43,065       42,080
Other Assets                                     59,003       59,875
                                             ----------   ----------
Total Assets                                 $  158,668   $  154,424
                                             ==========   ==========

Current Liabilities                          $   36,895   $   36,330
Long-Term Obligations                            22,654       25,014
                                             ----------   ----------
Total Liabilities                                59,549       61,344

Stockholders' Equity                             99,119       93,080
                                             ----------   ----------
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity   $  158,668   $  154,424
                                             ==========   ==========