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Hormel Foods Simplifies Ingredient Statements of Products

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Austin, Minn.

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) has announced a companywide clean label initiative to simplify the ingredient statements of many of its retail products through the removal or replacement of ingredients, while still delivering great-tasting items that consumers expect.

“We know that a growing number of consumers are looking for products made with simple, familiar ingredients,” said Scott Aakre, vice president of corporate innovation and new product development at Hormel Foods.

The company’s Valley Fresh® products, Hormel® Compleats® microwaveable meals, Hormel® Always Tender®meats and two Hormel® side dishes have already been simplified. Projects are currently underway to simplify the ingredient statements for Hormel® chili, Dinty Moore® stew and SPAM® products.

In addition, the company’s Hormel® Natural Choice® meats were developed nine years ago with a simplified ingredient statement in mind. Hormel® Natural Choice® meats are 100 percent natural with zero preservatives, no artificial colors or MSG, no nitrites or nitrates added, and have no gluten-containing ingredients.

“This initiative is in alignment with our company’s continuous improvement process and better positions our products with current consumer preferences,” said Kevin L. Myers, senior vice president of R&D at Hormel Foods.

Valley Fresh® 100% natural chicken, for example, contains only chicken breast meat with rib meat, chicken broth, sea salt and rosemary extract.

“Now consumers can feel even better about the products they know and love,” Myers said.

In addition to the company’s retail products clean label efforts, the company’s foodservice division is focusing on clean labels as well. Knowing that foodservice operators and their patrons desire their ingredients and menu items to reflect what they find in their own pantries, all Hormel Foods Foodservice innovation efforts will continue to be chef-inspired with easily recognized ingredients, smart sodium levels and on-trend preparation methods. Innovation product successes include Hormel® Fire Braised™ meats, Hormel® Natural Choice® meats, and recently introduced Hormel® FUSE™ burgers. Each of these items are 100 percent all natural with zero preservatives, no artificial colors, no nitrites or nitrates added, and have no gluten-containing ingredients.

The Hormel Foods clean label initiative builds upon the company’s sodium reduction efforts that have been in place for several years. The company aims to reduce sodium levels in select products within its branded retail portfolio by an average of 15 percent.

Additional information about the company’s clean label initiative and sodium reduction efforts will be included in the 2015 Hormel Foods Corporate Responsibility report, which will launch in June 2016.

About Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded food and meat products, many of which are among the best known and trusted in the food industry. Hormel Foods, which leverages its extensive expertise, innovation and high competencies in pork and turkey processing and marketing to bring branded, value-added products to the global marketplace, will celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2016. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index, S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, and was named one of “The 100 Best Corporate Citizens” by Corporate Responsibility Magazine for the seventh year in a row. Hormel Foods also received a perfect score on the 2016 Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, was recognized on the 2016 Best for Vets Employers List by Military Times, and was named one of the 2016 Best Companies for Leaders by Chief Executive magazine. The company enjoys a strong reputation among consumers, retail grocers, foodservice and industrial customers for products highly regarded for quality, taste, nutrition, convenience and value. For more information, visit https://www.hormelfoods.com and http://2014csr.hormelfoods.com/.