ConAgra Foods to Reduce Sodium in Products by 20 Percent by 2015
October 15 2009 - 2:35PM
Business Wire
ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) one of North America’s leading
food makers, today announced its pledge to reduce salt across its
portfolio of food products by 20 percent by 2015. Since 2006, the
company has already removed more than 2 million pounds of salt from
it products. Today’s pledge adds 8 million pounds of salt to the
equation, with the company ultimately removing 10 million pounds of
salt from American diets each year.
The company’s commitment builds on ConAgra Foods’ legacy as a
leader in helping consumers reduce and control sodium intake. More
than 20 years ago, ConAgra Foods introduced Healthy Choice® meals
to the marketplace—the first, and still the only, line of meals in
the grocery store to earn the “healthy” label, in part, for meeting
the U.S. government’s recommendations for healthy sodium
levels.
“Sodium reduction is part of our ongoing work to make food more
nutritious,” said Gary Rodkin, ConAgra Foods CEO. “Americans need
less salt in their diets, and they want less salt in their diets.
We have the capability to meet consumer wants and needs—food people
love not only because it tastes good, but also because it’s better
for them.”
In fact, the latest HealthFocus Trend Report noted that both
interest in and use of lower salt options among primary grocery
shoppers has increased dramatically over the past four years. In
2004, 19 percent of shoppers indicated they used low-sodium
products once a week or more, compared to 41 percent using
low-sodium products once a week or more in 2008.
Building on the knowledge and expertise gained through their
development of recipes for Healthy Choice, ConAgra Foods’ chefs and
scientists have worked diligently since 2006 to reduce salt in
various brands, such as Orville Redenbacher’s® popcorn and Chef
Boyardee® pasta. To date, this work has resulted in 2 million fewer
pounds of salt per year in the domestic food supply.
Over the past few years, several respected public health
authorities, including the World Health Organization, the U.S.
Department of Health & Human Services, and the American Heart
Association, have solidified their position on the importance of
reducing sodium intake. Research released earlier this year by two
different groups1 calculated the potential health and economic
benefits of sodium reduction to the American public. Based upon
those estimates it is projected that, if the food industry were to
follow ConAgra Foods’ lead and reduce salt by 20 percent across
product portfolios, U.S. medical costs might be reduced by as much
as $4 billion to $10 billion annually.
The scope of the ConAgra Foods’ salt reduction is broad and
diverse, including as many as 20 brands, 160 product varieties
(formulas), and all temperature categories in the supermarket.
“ConAgra Foods has the ability to make an impact on sodium in a
very broad way,” said Al Bolles, Ph.D., executive vice president,
Research, Quality & Innovation, ConAgra Foods. “What that means
is that we’ll need to use different techniques to keep or enhance
the taste of all types of food in our portfolio, from Hunt’s®
tomatoes to Marie Callender’s® convenient meals to Fleischmann’s®
table spreads. This is a definite challenge—but one that is very
worthwhile and one we are confident that we can meet.”
Importantly, ConAgra Foods’ pledge to reduce salt 20 percent by
2015 is only a snapshot of its work in this area, and only a
portion of its overall work to make food more healthful. “We expect
to continue to make food better, whether it’s through the inclusion
of whole grains and other important nutrients, or reducing sodium,
far beyond 2015,” said Bolles. “We recognize the critical nature of
our role in good health, and we’ll continue to make positive
contributions. Providing good nutrition is essential to consumer
and company well-being and is part of our overall commitment to
social responsibility.”
The company will track its work in sodium reduction and make it
publicly available each year through the ConAgra Foods Corporate
Social Responsibility report, published at
www.conagrafoods.com.
ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) is one of North America’s
leading food companies, with brands in 97 percent of America’s
households. Consumers find Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters,
Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt’s, Marie Callender’s, Orville
Redenbacher’s, PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip and many other ConAgra
Foods brands in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise, and club
stores. ConAgra Foods also has a strong business-to-business
presence, supplying potato, other vegetable, spice and grain
products to a variety of well-known restaurants, foodservice
operators and commercial customers. For more information, please
visit us at www.conagrafoods.com.
1. Potential health benefits and medical cost savings from
calorie, sodium, and saturated fat reductions in the American diet,
American Journal of Health Promotion, July/Aug 2009. Potential
societal savings from reduced sodium consumption in the U.S. adult
population, American Journal of Health Promotion, Sept/Oct
2009.
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