Baking & Snack - March 2009 - 19

NEWS

Recalls heighten
consumer
food safety
awareness

Sara Lee to cut costs with Project Accelerate
Sara Lee Corp., Downers Grove, IL,
announced the beginning of Project Accelerate, a cost-cutting phase that is expected
to yield $200 million to $250 million in
benefits in the next two years. Brenda
Barnes, chairman and c.e.o., gave details
on Project Accelerate at the Consumer
Analyst Group of New York Conference in
Boca Raton, FL, and explained how Sara
Lee's marketing will emphasize products at
lower price points.
Project Accelerate marks the next phase
of improvement in Sara Lee's transformation plans announced four years ago, Ms.
Barnes said. "Our objective was to become
more streamlined, more focused, more
efficient and more effective in the marketplace," she said.
Project Accelerate will require Sara
Lee to take about $150 million of 1-time

charges between fiscal 2009 and 2011, with
the majority coming in 2009.
Project Accelerate will involve such
actions as outsourcing, supply chain
improvements and rationalizing stockkeeping units. Sara Lee is implementing
an outsourcing model that leverages standardized processes and IT infrastructure. It
also is designed to reduce spending against
indirect goods and services, which runs
about $2.9 billion each year.
While cutting costs in some areas, Sara Lee
will continue to expand promotional spending, Ms. Barnes said. The company will employ more coupons and in-store executions.
"Our marketing will also place greater
emphasis on the value proposition of
products," Ms Barnes said. "We're focused
on affordable innovation delivering new
versions of products at lower price points."

Forward Foods LLC filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a direct result of the peanut-

The Puratos Group and Fugeia
partnered to develop breads
with digestive health benefits.

Weldon Solutions moved into
its new facilities on East Berlin Road

related recall. The company makes Detour
energy bars, which it recalled after the
tainted peanut recall by its supplier,
Peanut Corp. of America. The recalled
products make up approximately 75%
of all company sales.

The technology, developed by the alliance,
makes the natural fibers of cereals act as
prebiotic substrates for the intestinal flora.
The fibers are activated during the baking
process without requiring the addition of
external sources of fiber.

Danisco and NattoPharma
will partner to market the
natural vitamin K2 product
MenaQ7 to the global food industry,

Cargill will close its Decatur,
IL, corn milling plant in the next

93% of US consumers have read
or heard reports of recent food
safety issues and recalls.

65% of US consumers said during
a food contamination outbreak,
they change their short-term food
buying habits but not their longterm behavior.

23% of US consumers said recalls
will change their long-term food
buying behavior.
Source: US consumer study by Burson-Marsteller
and Penn Schoen & Berland Associates.

NEWS IN BRIEF

including North America, under supply,
marketing and licensing agreements.

Cargill's Truvia natural
sweetener brand is a premier
sponsor of the American
Dietetic Association (ADA). As
part of the 2-year sponsorship, the natural
sweetener brand will be featured at various
ADA events and in ADA materials.

BAKING & SNACK / March 2009

two to three months, eliminating 100
jobs. The facility, which was closed briefly
in 2006, makes corn sweeteners and
industrial starch.

Canada has made progress in
reducing trans fat in pre-packaged
foods. Health Canada reported that 80%
of the pre-packaged foods in the Canadian
food supply selected for review under its
Trans Fat Monitoring Program met a trans
fat limit set in June 2006.

in York, PA. The new location features a
2,300-sq-ft showroom and a total of 40,000
sq ft of manufacturing and office space.

NutraCea has begun baby
cereal production and new customer sampling at its Phoenix, AZ, facility.
Currently, the facility has the capacity to
handle 2,700 tons of stabilized rice bran
with plans to be able to handle 5,000 tons
by the end of the second quarter of 2009
and 7,000 tons by early 2010.

The Manischewitz Co. held its
3rd Annual Simply Manischewitz Cook-Off in February. Out
of thousands of entries, six finalists were
chosen to compete in a live cook-off. Amy
Siegel of Clifton, NJ, won the $25,000
grand champion prize package with her
recipe for Marvelous Mediterranean
Falafel Sliders.

Baking & Snack - March 2009

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