Milling & Baking News - October 5, 2010 - 11

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ConAgra making 'substantial progress'
on corporate responsibility efforts
OMAHA - Despite difficulties that
occurred during 2009 such as an explosion at a Garner, N.C., facility that
resulted in four deaths and 113 injuries, and a few voluntary product recalls, ConAgra Foods, Inc. continued
to make good progress on its corporate responsibility initiatives, according to the company's 2010 Corporate
Responsibility Report issued Sept. 24.
Since ConAgra's last C.R.R. was published in 2008, the company said it has
accomplished several key objectives,
including announcing an aggressive
sodium reduction goal across its Consumer Foods portfolio, constructing a
LEED-certified, state-of-the-art sweet
potato processing facility, and launching
ConAgra's first multi-brand, cause-related marketing effort, "Child Hunger Ends
Here." The company also in the past
two years has developed an integrated,
company-wide corporate responsibility
platform: "Good for You, Good for the
Community, Good for the Planet."
"Our corporate responsibility platform is young, but it provides a solid
foundation and clear direction for the
future," said Chris Kircher, vice-president of corporate affairs and president
of ConAgra Foods Foundation. "Already, we are seeing progress in three
strategic planks. In the 'Good for You'
plank, we achieved significant sodium
reduction in many of our brands during 2010, and we are on track to reduce
sodium by 8 million lbs per year as we
work toward our long-term pledge of
a 20% sodium reduction by 2015. This
initiative is particularly important given an increased emphasis on nutrition
in both the public and private sectors.
"Our 'Good for the Community'
plank includes our work to fight child
hunger. Our launch of a multi-year,
multi-million dollar commitment
to Feeding America, coupled with
ConAgra Foods' integrated cause marketing campaign, is already helping address growing needs brought on by difficult economic conditions here in the
United States. Looking ahead, these efforts should help ensure that ConAgra
Foods continues to be a leader in working toward President Obama's goal of
'No Child Left Hungry' by 2015.
"Finally, in our 'Good for the Planet'
plank, we're already seeing significant
reductions in our five target areas of
greenhouse gas emissions, water use,
solid waste, packaging, and suppliers'
use of natural resources."
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

As part of the company's efforts
to ensure food safety and quality,
ConAgra said its internal food safety
and quality audit group completed
14 and 49 audits during fiscal 2009
and 2010, respectively. Additionally,

the company this
past year initiated
total process control
microbiology in its supply chain and manufacturing plants, using a pioneering technology in the consumer
foods industry.
Another way in which ConAgra has
ramped up its focus on food safety
and quality has come in the form of
aggressive implementation of Global
Food Safety Initiative (G.F.S.I.) certification. The G.F.S.I. is led by food
retailers, with food manufacturers
serving as advisory members. In fiscal 2009, only a little more than 20%
of ConAgra's production volume was
manufactured in G.F.S.I.-certified facilities. In 2010, that percentage rose
to nearly 90%, and by fiscal 2011
ConAgra said it plans to be at 100%.
"When plants earn (certain G.F.S.I.)
certification, it means they have enhanced their quality and food safety
systems," ConAgra said. "These enhancements are expected to reduce the
number of quality incidents - national holds and complaints from consumers and customers - while driving
quality to new levels and reinforcing
the correlation between improving
quality and food safety performance
and getting better business results."
In its health and nutrition platform,
ConAgra said it is making good progress on reducing sodium across its

Business

Consumer Foods portfolio, though
doing so has not been easy.
"Reducing sodium impacts the flavor of our products; therefore, we test
and evaluate a variety of approaches
to decrease sodium content without affecting consumer acceptance, depending on the product line," ConAgra said.
"Though sodium is usually associated
with palatability or taste, salt is one
of the earliest known preservatives,
playing a crucial role in maintaining
product characteristics and extending
the time food can be stored. Considerations such as these help us best determine how to reduce sodium in our
foods. We know we have the ability to make an impact on sodium
in a very meaningful way."
The company also is taking advantage of its proprietary whole
grain flours, such as Ultragrain,
and integrating them as ingredients
in its Consumer Foods products to
enhance the nutritional value of the
brands. For example, the
company said it intends to incorporate
whole grains into
Healthy
Choice
frozen meals where
pasta or rice is an
ingredient. The move
comes on the heels of the
launch of Whole Grain Chef
Boyardee products in late fiscal 2010.
"We will continue to leverage the
whole grain expertise of ConAgra
Mills to expand the integration of
whole grains into our consumer foods
products," the company said. "In addition, many ConAgra Foods products are prepared to specifications
unique to school food service. For instance, The Max pizza features whole
grain crust and between 3 and 5 grams
of fiber per serving. This improved
recipe has added protein and fiber and
reduced sodium and fat."
In its 2008 C.R.R., ConAgra detailed
plans to launch the "Smart Choices"
program, a uniform, front-of-package
nutrition labeling program. The program has since been voluntarily postponed as the Food and Drug Administration announced its intent to develop standardized criteria on which
future front-of-package nutrition labeling will be based.
"We support the development of a
standardized labeling system that can
help consumers make informed food
choices and construct healthier diets,
and we look forward to working with
the F.D.A. on this important program,"
ConAgra said in its 2010 C.R.R. MBN
Milling & Baking News October 5, 2010 / 11

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Milling & Baking News - October 5, 2010

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