Milling & Baking News - December 2, 2003 - 12

B U S I N E S S

Voortman Cookies unveils plan to
eliminate trans fat in product line
BURLINGTON, ONT. - Voortman
Cookies, a maker of a wide array of
cookie varieties, last week unveiled
plans to reduce the amount of trans fat
in all its products to zero grams, effectively becoming the first major cookie
manufacturer to move away from hydrogenated oil.
Recent research has linked trans fat
to an increased risk of heart disease and

Voortman said the move to use non-hydrogenated oils in all its products is a step
toward providing more healthy products.
The trans fat issue grabbed center
stage earlier this year when a lawsuit
was filed against Kraft Foods Inc. in
California seeking to bar the sale of
Oreos to children because of the cookies' trans fatty acid content (see Milling
& Baking News of May 20, Page 14). The

ConAgra Foods completes divestitures of
U.A.P. and food processing businesses
OMAHA - ConAgra Foods, Inc. last week
completed the sale of its United Agri Products
division and its chicken processing business.
These actions were part of ConAgra's ongoing plan to reshape its portfolio to focus
on its branded and value-added food businesses, the company said.
ConAgra announced the deal to sell
U.A.P., its U.S. and Canadian crop inputs
business, in late October (see Milling & Baking News of Nov. 4, Page 16). Apollo Management, L.P., a private equity investment
firm based in New York City, paid $500
million in cash for the business and $60
million in additional consideration in the
form of preferred securities through which

ConAgra will retain a small
stake in United.
ConAgra said it will receive
an additional $50 million in
cash in coming months.
Also last week, ConAgra completed the
previously announced divestiture of its
chicken processing business to Pilgrim's
Pride, Pittsburg, Texas (see Milling & Baking
News of June 17, Page 10).
The sales price was based on the $545million book value of the chicken business
at the time of closing. ConAgra received
$300 million in cash and 25 million shares of
Pilgrim's Pride stock.
These shares are subject to an agreement

Cargill-Cerestar research and development
team create cereal bar production system
AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
- Several business units of the merged organization of Cargill-Cerestar have worked
together to launch a new cereal bar system.
The Cargill Soy Protein Solutions division,
Cerestar Food & Pharma Specialties Europe
and Cerestar Sweeteners Europe worked
together to release the cereal bar system at
the Food Ingredients Europe event held Nov.
18-20 in Frankfurt, Germany.
The cereal bar demonstrates the value

Solae raises prices
on soy-based lecithin
ST. LOUIS - The Solae Co. announced
a price increase of 5% to 8% on its soybased lecithin product portfolio, effective Nov. 3.
"The price increase is a result of
recent escalation in the cost of manufacturing, rising energy costs, and a
variety of increases in the cost of ingredients, transportation and packaging,"
the company said. MBN

12 / Milling & Baking News, December 2, 2003

Cargill-Cerestar can bring to its customers in
product development by leveraging the capabilities of its research and development center,
its deep knowledge of food systems access to
key ingredients and strategic understanding
of consumer demand, the company said.
The project team of 10 applications specialists and nutritionists was led by Nils Sips,
manager of Cerestar's Application Center
Food & Pharma in Vilvoorde, Belgium
"We believe the cereal bar provides a

suit quickly was withdrawn, but executives of Kraft have kept close tabs on the
issue as have other grain-based leaders,
such as those at Voortman.
"Today's consumers are more aware
of what they eat and we know they
want healthier snacks," said Adrian
Voortman, vice-president. "It reflects our
understanding of the concerns of North
American consumers. We are offering a
healthier food choice while maintaining
Voortman's tradition of delicious cookies. It's a significant step that will certainly change the cookie landscape." MBN

in which one-third can be sold one year
after closing, another third
can be sold two years after
closing and the remaining
third can be sold three
years after closing.
"This closing represents
another important step to improve the
strength and consistency of our earnings by
focusing on businesses with higher margin
opportunities," said Bruce Rohde, chairman
and chief executive officer of ConAgra.
ConAgra has sold a variety of commodity-oriented businesses in recent months,
including its fresh meat business. The company still maintains its flour milling division and will fold about $250 million worth
of U.A.P. assets it did not sell into its Food
Ingredients division. MBN

glimpse of future product developments,"
said Henk Jan Buurman, commercial manager of Cargill Soy Protein Solutions in
Europe. "Manufacturers can gain enormous
value from partnering with a recognized
leader in developing new applications. We
provide the resources and expertise many
manufacturers do not have internally."
Cargill-Cerestar is one of the only companies that has the scale to create an end product using ingredients sourced entirely from
its own stable of companies and developed
entirely using its own research and development facilities, the company said. MBN

SuperTargets to boost private label
MINNEAPOLIS - Target Corp. plans to
increase sales of private label products in
its SuperTarget stores and give increased
emphasis to food in new and remodeled
regular Target stores.
In a Nov. 13 conference call, Gregg W.
Steinhafel, president of the company's Target Stores Division, said the moves in food
are part of merchandising steps being taken
by the company in the fourth quarter that
began Nov. 3.
"We plan to significantly increase our of-

fering of own brand foods," Mr. Steinhafel
said. "During 2004, we plan to add over
1,000 new Archer Farms and Market Pantry
items and thus increase our own brand penetration from single digits to mid-teens."
Target Stores in March will introduce new
prototype stores that will include a "consumables world" section that "expands the
space devoted to high frequency categories,
such as paper products, health and beauty
aids and foods," Mr. Steinhafel said.
Target operates 1,227 stores. MBN
bakingbusiness.com/world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com/world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - December 2, 2003

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