US food manufacturer General Mills has signed a contract to buy Pasta Master, a producer of chilled Italian meals, pasta and sauces based in Australia.The sale, which is expected to complete in March, includes the Victoria-based business and a production facility in Bendigo. Around 75 people at the facility are expected to become part of General Mills. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. “The acquisition of Pasta Master strategically broadens our ready-to-cook pasta offerings to consumers,”... ...Read more »

US food manufacturer General Mills has reformulated its Yoplait original yoghurt to include more calcium. The product, General Mills said on Monday (13 December), now contains “two times the calcium of the leading yoghurt with 50% of the daily value in each 500mg pot”. As part of the launch, consumers can visit Yoplait’s Facebook page to sign up for a free pot of Yoplait original yoghurt. The launch will also see US television presenter Nancy O’Dell partner with Yoplait to... ...Read more »

General Mills announced today that it is selling its Croissant King and van den Bergh’s frozen bakery businesses in Australia to Kerry Group, a global food and ingredients company headquartered in Ireland. The sale includes frozen dough and pastry products sold to professional bakers under those brands, as well as two plants located in Mansfield, Queensland, and Camellia, New South Wales.  About 110 employees dedicated to the frozen bakery business will transfer to Kerry with this sale, effective... ...Read more »

General Mills, the US company behind brands like Haagen-Dazs ice cream and Nature Valley snack bars, has set a target of using only “palm oil from responsible and sustainable sources” by 2015.The company said its use of palm oil was “modest” and accounted for around 0.1% of its production. However, General Mills believes companies like itself could have an impact on the issue. “We acknowledge that responsible users of even small amounts of ingredients can impact issues... ...Read more »

US food giant General Mills booked a 12% rise in first-quarter profits as US sales were boosted by growth in the company’s cereal and yoghurt divisions. The Cheerios and Yoplait maker posted net profit of US$472.1 million – an increase of 12.2% – for the three months to 29 August. Net sales were up 1.5% at $3.53 billion. US net sales increased 2% to $2.45 billion, with General Mills’ Big G cereals division posted a 4% rise in sales. Net sales from Yoplait, for which General... ...Read more »

General Mills has unveiled a new solar energy initiative at its facility in Methuen, Massacheusetts, designed to supply much of the warehouse’s power requirements via solar panels installed on the roof. The panels will supply nearly 80% of the yoghurt manufacturing facility’s power in summer, and 40% of needs for the rest of the year – a total of 110.7 kilowatts, offsetting around 50,800kg of carbon annually – the equivalent of 12 households or 10 cars. “The enthusiasm... ...Read more »

A press release sent out by news service PR Newswire, claiming that food company General Mills was under investigation by the US Government, has turned out to be a hoax. The release, which went out on Tuesday, claimed that the Obama administration had ordered an “investigation into the General Mills supply chain in most major global markets due to a recent number of reported voluntary recalls on its food products across the world, most notably its cereal and fast food items in the US, UK, Europe... ...Read more »

A clutch of the largest US food makers, including General Mills, Nestle and PepsiCo, have pledged to cut 1.5 trillion of calories by the end of 2015. The companies announced the plans on Monday as part of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation coalition, which is headed by Kellogg president and CEO David Mackay. “Through this effort, the companies that make up the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation will provide consumers with additional healthier food options that help them achieve and... ...Read more »

Leading food company General Mills -  responsible for over 100 consumer brands including Cheerios, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Old El Paso, and Muir Glen – is accelerating its goals to reduce sodium by 20 percent across multiple product categories by 2015. The commitment was announced in the company’s 2010 Corporate Social Responsibility Report.”General Mills is committed to reducing sodium levels in a series of small steps across our portfolio,” said Susan... ...Read more »

Campbell Soup Company, General Mills, PepsiCo and Solae have been recognized by Ethisphere Institute as the World’s Most Ethical Food and Beverage Companies for 2010.This is the fourth year Ethisphere, a think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability, has published the World’s Most Ethical Companies rankings, which appear in Ethisphere Magazine’s Q1 issue.The... ...Read more »