Northern Foods shares were delisted from the London Stock Exchange from 13 May 2011

Initiatives on Diet, Health and Nutritional Information

In response to increasing interest expressed by consumers about the content of the food we make, we are taking various product-development initiatives related to diet and health, and have responded innovatively to calls for clearer on-pack information about nutritional content. Here are some examples of our responses to the health issues of the day:

No hydrogenated vegetable oils – Hydrogenated vegetable oils are increasingly regarded as containing unhealthy fats, so in 2010 we completed a programme of removing them from all of our products.

Reducing salt – We have been steadily reducing salt since 2002, in line with the Food Standards Agency's target of reducing consumer salt intake to 6g per day.

Reducing additives – We have a constant programme of minimising the use of additives, and our policy is to use natural materials wherever possible.

Enhancing nutrients – In some cases we may enhance key nutrients, such as the addition of Omega 3 in our Donegal Catch fish fingers.

Low-calorie alternatives – We develop healthier alternatives to some of our most popular foods so that consumers have wider choices in what they can buy depending on their needs.

On-pack information

Northern Foods is concerned to make sure that consumers can easily make informed choices about the food they buy, taking into account the importance of a balanced diet. We were one of the early, voluntary adopters of front-of-pack nutritional information across our branded product ranges. We express it in values "per portion”, displaying calories, weights, and percentages of the government-recommended Guideline Daily Amount.

We monitor the continuing debates about other methods of expressing nutritional information, including: the alternative to “per portion” of “per 100g”; the pros and cons of using traffic-light colours to indicate different levels of fat, sugar or salt relative to guideline daily amounts; and even the relevance of displaying guideline daily amounts in helping consumers to maintain a balanced diet.

We also take a particular interest in discussions about declaring ‘country of origin’ on food labels because of the difficulties that would arise with complex products such as pizzas, which often have ingredients from several countries, and have some ingredients, such as tomatoes and onions, that might be sourced from multiple countries, changing with the seasons and the availability of high-quality supply.