Kraft Cut Sodium Levels By 10 Percent Annually To 2012

By: Susan Harris
Staff Writer
Published: Mar 18, 2010

Kraft will cut sodium levels by 10 percent each year in products until 2012.

Kraft will cut sodium levels in various products in an effort to help consumers with health and wellness. Most Americans have asked for a salt reduction, and now they got it. The company wants to cut as much as 10 percent of salt in its products by 2012.

"We are reducing sodium because it's good for consumers, and, if done properly, it's good for business," Rhonda Jordan, corporate president for health & wellness, said in a statement. "A growing number of consumers are concerned about their sodium intake, and we want to help them translate their intentions into actions."

In fact, the company had cut sodium as much as 30 percent in many items before setting the new goal for reduction. In fact, a pinch of salt makes a huge difference. A 10 percent reduction in two years will take more than 10 million pounds of sodium out of the country's diet.

Among the products up for major reductions in sodium is Oscar Mayer Bologna. The company wants to cut the salt intake from everyone's favorite meat-like product by 17 percent. Some flavors of the instant Easy Mac Cups product will see sodium reductions of 20 percent.

The Largest Food and Beverage Corporation

Kraft Foods, Inc. is the largest confectionery, food, and beverage corporation headquartered in the United States. It is also the second-largest in the world. It markets many brands in more than 155 countries.

The company is headquartered in Northfield, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. Its European headquarters is just outside Zurich, Switzerland. The company became a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average on September 22, 2008.

The firm was formed on December 10, 1923 by Thomas H. McInnerney. The company was initially set up to execute on a rollup strategy in the ice cream industry. Through acquisitions, it expanded into a full range of dairy products.

In 1980, the corporation merged with Dart Industries, makers of the Duracell brand of batteries and Tupperware brand of plastic containers. In 1988, the food giant was sold Duracell to the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, who then put it into an initial public offering in 1989. Gillette bought Duracell in 1996, and itself was acquired by Procter and Gamble in 2005.

In 1988, Philip Morris Companies purchased the food company for $12.9 billion. In 1989, the company merged with Philip Morris's General Foods unit, which includes Oscar Mayer meats, Maxwell House coffee, Kool-Aid, Post Cereals and Shake 'n Bake flavored coatings. Its aggressive product development was reversed after the merger.

In 1995, it changed its name to the present name, Kraft Foods. The same year, it sold its bakery division, its candy division and its table spread division. Log Cabin syrup was sold in 1997.

Berkshire Hathaway Led By Billionaire Investor Warren E. Buffett

In February 2008, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. operated by billionaire investor Warren E. Buffett announced that it had acquired an 8 percent stake in the firm worth over $4 billion. Buffett's business partner Charles Munger had also invested over $300 million in the company. On September 7, 2009, the company made a $10.2 billion takeover offer for Cadbury, but it was later rejected.