"Sodium reduction is part of our ongoing work to make food more nutritious," said Gary Rodkin, ConAgra Foods CEO. "Americans need less salt in their diets, and they want less salt in their diets. We have the capability to meet consumer wants and needs--food people love not only because it tastes good, but also because it's better for them."

The latest HealthFocus Trend Report, according to a release, noted that both interest in and use of lower salt options among primary grocery shoppers has increased over the past four years.

The scope of the ConAgra Foods' salt reduction is broad and diverse, including as many as 20 brands, 160 product varieties (formulas) and all temperature categories in the supermarket, the company said.

"ConAgra Foods has the ability to make an impact on sodium in a very broad way," said Al Bolles, Ph.D., executive vice president, Research, Quality & Innovation, ConAgra Foods. "What that means is that we'll need to use different techniques to keep or enhance the taste of all types of food in our portfolio, from Hunt's tomatoes to Marie Callender's convenient meals to Fleischmann's table spreads. This is a definite challenge--but one that is very worthwhile and one we are confident that we can meet."

More Information:

www.conagrafoods.com

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

"It's truly an honor to welcome Gerrit Schutte to Violin's Industry Advisory Board," said Don Basile, Chief Executive Officer of Violin Memory and former CEO of Fusion-io. "He and his team have already helped test the capabilities and assessed the benefits of Violin's technology in the ConAgra Foods data center. Gerrit's participation and guidance will be instrumental in enlightening CIOs at Fortune 500 and Global 2000 companies in the use of silicon storage to overcome the physical limitations of hard-disk storage arrays to realize data center efficiencies that were previously unattainable."

Schutte joined ConAgra Foods in 1998. He has successfully led ConAgra's restructuring, consolidation and modernization of IT resources including the design and construction of state-of-the-art data center capabilities, outsourcing of legacy application systems and proliferation of PMO disciplines and standards across the enterprise. He has deployed effective technical and leadership development capabilities throughout all areas of the IT organization. Schutte's organizations have successfully implemented a single SAP instance across multiple business platforms and functions including Finance, Supply Chain, Sales and R&D. In 2009, ConAgra became the first company in the Americas to be awarded certification from SAP as an Advanced Customer Center of Expertise. Prior to joining ConAgra, he served as SVP IS Infrastructure for the Mutual of Omaha Companies and VP of Systems and Operations for the Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance Company. Schutte is a native of New York City, holds a BA degree from Fordham University and an MA from Central Michigan University.

Schutte joins Broadcom CIO Kenneth Venner and Asurion SVP of Technology Solutions Chris Corrado as the founding members of Violin Memory's Industry Advisory Board.

Violin appliances are specifically designed for scalable, reliable and sustainable use in the data center. These silicon storage appliances scale to millions of IOs per second and tens of terabytes of capacity. In 2010, Violin will deliver density, reliability and per terabyte pricing competitive with enterprise-class performance hard disk drive storage thus transforming the entire pricing structure of the performance storage market.

About Violin Memory, Inc.

Violin Memory, Inc. provides the world's fastest and most scalable memory appliances that dramatically accelerate large dataset applications demanding very high IOPS and low latency. With support for many memory types including SLC, MLC Flash as well as DRAM, Violin Memory's silicon storage appliances provide significant power and space savings with extreme data reliability and sustained performance. Founded in 2005, Violin Memory is headquartered in San Jose, California. For more information on Violin Memory products, visit www.violin-memory.com.

Violin Media Contact:
The Bernard Group
Tom Murphy
Email Contact
O) 831-661-0260
C) 831-402-4142

SOURCE: Violin Memory

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=E0E9436603CFAA8E

Orville Redenbacher's is launching Flavoured Mini Bags, portion-controlled packages of popcorn - perfect for the quarter of Canadians (25 per cent) who enjoy solo snacking in the afternoon. The popcorn is available in two unique flavours: Lime & Salt and Salt & Cracked Pepper.

"Canadians have long-loved flavourful snacks, but there haven't been many options for popcorn-lovers who also enjoy gourmet flavours," said Norma D'Onofrio, Senior Marketing Manager for Orville Redenbacher's at ConAgra Foods Canada. "Orville Redenbacher's Flavoured Mini Bags cater to those who don't want to sacrifice good taste at snack time."

The survey also found that 70 per cent of Canadians feel that snacks are an important part of their enjoyment of get-togethers with family. In addition, popcorn is overwhelmingly the top snacking pick when sitting down with the family to enjoy a movie at home (43 per cent).

Orville Redenbacher's Flavoured Mini Bags popcorn has a suggested retail price of $4.99-$5.99 for an eight-pack box. Orville Redenbacher's Flavoured Mini Bags popcorn began appearing at most major grocery retailers on September 28, 2009.

Orville Redenbacher's Flavoured Mini Bags is the newest product to be launched by the brand in Canada, and like all Orville Redenbacher's popcorn, is made with 100 percent whole grain popping corn and is a source of fibre. Canada's Food Guide advises Canadians to make at least half of their grain products whole grain each day.

From October 1 to October 2, 2009, Angus Reid Strategies conducted an online survey among 1,005 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error-which measures sampling variability-is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

About ConAgra Foods Canada, Inc.

ConAgra Foods Canada, based in Mississauga, Ontario, is a division of ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG), based in Omaha, Nebraska. ConAgra Foods is one of North America's largest packaged-food companies, serving consumer grocery retailers, as well as restaurants and other foodservice establishments. Popular ConAgra Foods consumer brands include: Orville Redenbacher's(TM), Chef Boyardee(TM), Egg Beaters(TM), Healthy Choice(TM), Hunt's(TM), Snack Pack(TM), PAM(TM), POGO(TM), Reddi-Wip(TM), VH(TM), and many others. For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.ca.

About ConAgra Foods, Inc.

ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) is one of North America's leading food companies, with brands in 97 percent of America's households. Consumers find Orville Redenbacher's(TM), Healthy Choice(TM), Chef Boyardee(TM), Banquet(TM), Egg Beaters(TM), Hebrew National(TM), Hunt's(TM), Marie Callender's(TM), PAM(TM), Peter Pan(TM), Reddi-wip(TM) and many ConAgra Foods brands in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise and club stores. ConAgra Foods also has a strong business-to-business presence, supplying potato, other vegetable, spice and grain products to a variety of well-known restaurants, foodservice operators and commercial customers. For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.com.

SOURCE: ConAgra Foods, Inc.

Media Contacts: Laura Snell, Ketchum on behalf of ConAgra Foods Canada, T: (416)
355-7406, E: laura.snell@ketchum.com; Marshneill Abraham, Ketchum on behalf of
ConAgra Foods Canada, T: (416) 355-7425, E: marshneill.abraham@ketchum.com

"Healthier eating and becoming more physically active are keys to maintaining a healthy lifestyle which can delay and prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes, a disease that is on the rise in America and currently results in an economic burden estimated to at $132 billion annually," Rippe said. "These findings are important because they show in a long-term study that Healthy Choice products offer the convenience and nutrition people are seeking to help them promote an improved state of wellness."

In the study, men and women with health conditions common to many Americans and characteristic of pre-diabetes, such as being overweight and sedentary, followed a plan centered around eating Healthy Choice products every day. Overall portion and calorie control, plus moderate exercise, were emphasized, along with choosing other foods consistent with healthy eating such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and, lean meat.

"These findings are consistent with the results of the large, federally funded Diabetes Prevention Program," Rippe said. "Our study showed a user-friendly, practical way for individuals at risk for diabetes to significantly lower that risk."

Participants also became more physically active during the study by starting a simple walking program beginning with 15 minutes three days per week and progressing to 45 minutes four days per week. A control group followed the physical activity program without making changes in their food choices. The group that used Healthy Choice products showed significant improvements compared to the control group for blood glucose and insulin levels and also had a positive change in insulin sensitivity. Insulin is the key hormone the human body uses to regulate blood sugar levels.

"All of this is quite logical, but the trick is making eating healthier more enjoyable and easy," said Mark Andon, Ph.D., vice president of Nutrition, ConAgra Foods. "Consumers know it's important to eat right to maintain good health. But the food needs to taste good, and, for many people, it needs to be convenient. We do the work, making food that Americans can easily enjoy in adopting a healthier lifestyle--Healthy Choice meals combine taste, convenience, positive nutrition, and portion control so there's no tradeoff between eating well and being well."

About Healthy Choice

Healthy Choice products are made from premium ingredients and prepared with an emphasis on high-impact nutrition and flavor. Brands with "healthy" in their name are held to a higher nutrition standard set by the FDA. Healthy Choice is the only major brand in its category that can call 100 percent of its products "healthy," as defined by the FDA. Previous research has shown that Healthy Choice meals are lower in calories, saturated fat and sodium compared to a typical American meal, potentially preventing Americans' consumption of billions of calories and tons of salt and saturated fat over the past 20 years. For more information about Healthy Choice, visit www.healthychoice.com.

About the Rippe Institute

Founded by James M. Rippe, M.D., Rippe Lifestyle Institute is one of the leading research, communication and health promotion organizations in the world. Through research, publishing and partnering in health promotion and disease prevention projects, the various divisions and two locations of the Rippe Lifestyle Institute are helping empower people to lead healthier lifestyles with the passion, commitment and performance that have made Rippe Lifestyle Institute a leading authority on lifestyle and health. For more information, please visit us at www.rippehealth.com.

About ConAgra Foods

ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) is one of North America's leading food companies, making the food found in 97 percent of America's households. Consumers choose Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt's, Marie Callender's, Orville Redenbacher's, PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip and many other ConAgra Foods brands in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise, and club stores. ConAgra Foods also has a strong business-to-business presence, supplying potato, other vegetable, spice and grain products to a variety of well-known restaurants, foodservice operators and commercial customers. For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.com.

1. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 40 percent of adults in the United States has pre-diabetes, but is generally unaware of the condition.

Research note: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevalence of diabetes and impaired fasting glucose in adults -- United States, 1990-2000, MMWR Morb. Mortal Wkly Rep. 2003;52;833-837.

SOURCE: ConAgra Foods, Inc.

ConAgra Foods, Inc. 
Teresa Paulsen, 402-240-5210 
Vice President, Corporate Communication 
teresa.paulsen@conagrafoods.com 
www.conagrafoods.com