Oct. 23, 2007

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Cargill helps meet diverse consumer needs at Worldwide Food Expo 2007

MINNEAPOLIS – Visitors to Cargill’s booth (#N141) at the Worldwide Food Expo (October 24-27, Chicago, Ill.) can sample and learn more about three new meat and meat replacement prototypes that address distinct consumer demands.

Reduced Sodium Beef Sticks

Retail sales of beef snacks continue to grow due to consumer demand for convenience and protein. However, beef snacks also contain high concentrations of salt, which excludes consumers managing sodium intake.

Cargill has responded with a reduced sodium beef stick that contains less sodium, yet delivers the same great taste and saltiness of regular beef sticks. The beef sticks contain Cargill’s SaltWise™ sodium reduction system. With SaltWise™ sodium reduction system, food manufacturers can reduce sodium levels by 25 to 50 percent in their product formulations while delivering the great salt flavor consumers love. SaltWise™ sodium reduction system delivers taste parity to salt in many applications, including prepared foods, frozen meals, meat and poultry, soups, sauces and dressings, and salted snacks.

Meatballs with Sauce

According to AC Nielsen, retail sales of meatballs increased in 2006 and are expected to keep growing as consumers look for better-tasting, convenient meat products they can prepare at home. The challenge for manufacturers is to get the right combination of ingredients to ensure consistent taste while managing raw ingredient costs.

In response, Cargill developed meatballs with excellent fat binding and water absorption capabilities, resulting in increased yields and profits for manufacturers and retailers. Cargill has the technical expertise to help customers design ingredient blends to meet their specific texturizing needs.

Chicken Breast flavored Soy Quesadilla Filling

According to Mintel, consumer demand for meat substitutes is growing, and new product launches increased 50 percent during the last quarter. With cardiovascular disease the leading cause of death among Americans, many consumers are looking for dietary alternatives and products containing meat substitutes. In response, Cargill developed an innovative chicken breast flavored soy quesadilla filling that contains no saturated fat, cholesterol, or trans fat, and is an excellent source of fiber. The quesadilla filling contains Cargill’s Prosante™ XCL soy, an alternative for adding high quality soy protein to replace traditional protein in beef, chicken and fish products. This enables food designers to offer a complete protein replacement while still maintaining the final product’s integrity.