Casa Buitoni was opened in 1992 as the R&D and Communication Centre for the Buitoni brand. Since then it has been representing not only 180 years of tradition, but a continually evolving state-of-the-art centre, dedicated to fine Italian/Mediterranean cuisine. It concentrates on the nutritional and health giving aspects of Mediterranean goodness and the well-being this creates. Roberto Reniero, Head of Casa Buitoni, talks about the R&D centre and how Nestlé combines Italian and Mediterranean food traditions with contemporary know-how in nutrition and well-being. What is the main focus of R&D at Casa Buitoni? Roberto: At Casa Buitoni a group of culinary experts work full time to develop new product ideas and concepts based on in-depth consumer research. In the Experimental Kitchen, the Casa Buitoni chefs draw on Italian culinary experience to create new ideas. Traditional recipes become innovative products, rich in flavour and based on fundamental nutritional qualities that provide a complete, balanced way of eating that fully reflect the principles of the Mediterranean diet. In this way we create value for consumers developing high quality products that can delight our consumers as well as help to meet their nutritional needs. It also has to be mentioned that Casa Buitoni, together with its people, is an integral part of the Buitoni brand. The heart of Buitoni beats here in the Casa, and its dedicated team of professionals are the human face of the brand. Is this R&D knowledge used in other parts of the Nestlé business? Roberto: Yes. Absolutely. We work not only on innovation projects for the Buitoni business worldwide but, being part of the Nestlé Global R&D Network we contribute to the strategy and share our knowledge. What is a recent innovation from Casa Buitoni? Roberto: Some years ago Buitoni Italy launched a number of products under the name of Pensierini. This is filled pasta in small shapes that appeal to children. Based on consumer insights it was decided to renovate the product by enhancing its nutritional properties so it not only fun but is also reassuring for mothers. Thanks to the richness and the quality of the ingredients typical of the Mediterranean diet, our chefs and technologists, together with our nutritionist, developed a new range of products that naturally contain Calcium or Vitamin E, two important micronutrients for a child’s diet. Vegetables were also added to the pasta to colour the dough: "Green Pensierini with Peas" and "Ham & Orange Pensierini with Ricotta Cheese, Carrots and Grana Padano". The products were labelled: “Nutrirsi bene in allegria” (Good Nutrition with fun). Indeed a nice combination of consumer insight, ingredients and culinary knowledge and nutrition!

Antonio Helio Waszyk, chairman, Nestlé India, on why the company is launching a programme on increasing nutrition awareness. Nestlé India has also partnered with 5 Indian universities -- Punjab Agricultural University, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, National Dairy Research Institute, Goa University and University of Mysore -- to increase nutritional awareness among adolescent girls in villages. This programme will mainly address girls in the 12-17 age group. Nestlé and its partner universities have developed explaining how cooking practices can improve nutrition, as well as the need for food hygiene, sanitation, and physical exercise to improve health and wellness.

Nestlé today inaugurated the USD 100 million expansion of its milk processing facilities in Kejayan, Indonesia, which has now become one of Nestlé’s ten largest milk-processing plants worldwide. In one of the company’s largest investments ever in the country, Nestlé is aiming to double the Kejayan plant’s capacity to produce high quality nutritious milk products to meet the demand of Indonesian consumers. This will significantly increase Nestlé fresh milk intake from local dairy farmers to more than one million litres per day in the next few years from its present intake of approximately 620,000 liters per day. The Kejayan plant has always stood as a symbol of Nestlé’s commitment to Indonesia, particularly to the 30,000 dairy farmers of East Java, Indonesia who have been collaborating with the company for over 30 years. The expansion is expected to have a significant impact on the economic development of the surrounding area. An excellent example of creating shared value --  for society as well as shareholders.

The first edition of the Nestlé Prize in Creating Shared Value was a great success with more than 500 applications received from all over the world. Thank you to all participants for sending us their project applications! Applications received represented a broad range of approaches to problems of nutrition, water, or rural development. Examples of projects included innovative solutions for improving access to and management of water, for improving the lives of farmers and rural communities, or delivering high nutritional value to populations suffering from nutritional deficiencies. The Nestlé Prize Screening Committee selected the best applications from the pool of entries and the Nestlé Advisory Board on Creating Shared Value will choose the Nestlé Prize Laureate. Mark your calendar: the winner will be announced on 27 May, 2010! The Nestlé Prize in Creating Shared Value seeks to recognize successes in the areas of nutrition, water, and rural development. More information about the Prize can be found on http://www.nestle.com/CSV/CSVatNestle/CsvPrize/About.htm. Nestlé will commit to the Prize winner an investment of up to CHF 500,000 for a specified period of time, to assist in the development and scale-up of the innovation.

A major factor contributing to poverty and hunger is food insecurity, or the lack of sustainable physical or economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food for healthy and productive living. The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has projected that, in 2009, over 1 billion people will go to bed hungry, and estimates that the world will need until 2050 to boost agricultural investment by US$83bn a year to feed a growing population. Speaking on the issue of food security at the Private Sector Forum in Milan, Nestlé Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe stressed the need for and the willingness of the private sector to be actively involved in addressing this issue. He emphasised that reducing food insecurity is not just about taking measures to produce more food, it is also about taking measures that actually change expectations and lead to sound long-term food security and called for bold solutions to tackle this issue. In his presentation, Mr. Brabeck-Letmathe explains that there are five major challenges to overcome long-term global food insecurity: necessary quantities (basic calories and proteins) in a sustainable manner, generating reliable incomes for farmers, affordability of the food for low-income consumers, quality of food (including nutritional value and safety), and access (food at the right time, in the right form, at the right place). It is unfortunate and ironic that most of the people that are under-nourished or malnourished are primarily farmers, and come from rural areas. Click here to view video. I welcome your views on how private sector companies can confront and combat the issue of global food insecurity.

In line with Nestlé’s focus on nutrition as part of its creating shared value strategy, Nestlé Nutrition is taking a pro-active approach to the problems of malnutrition amongst older adults. Nestlé Nutrition is launching Resource® SeniorActiv to target the unique nutritional needs of the elderly. Resource® SeniorActiv is the first nutritionally complete oral supplement of its kind. It will be introduced in 2010 in Switzerland and progressively rolled out in key European countries. At the same time, the company is globally introducing the revised Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA®SF) for older people. This tool will help medical practitioners to better identify those who would most benefit from oral nutritional supplements.

A visual summary of Nestlé's commitment to creating shared value in 2009. We look forward to your comments!

Nestlé recently opened a global R&D Centre for biscuits and cereal-based snacks in Santiago de Chile. The new R&D Centre will lead Nestlé’s global research and development in biscuits and cereal-based snacks, focusing both on innovation and renovation of products.  R&D Santiago will bring together specialists from various fields, including nutrition, engineering, product development and quality control. With ingredients such as wholegrain, fruits and nuts, biscuits are part of a healthy balanced diet. The development of new technologies at R&D Santiago will help to further reduce sugar and fat levels to make biscuits lighter, without compromising taste or texture. R&D Santiago will also develop biscuits with bioactive ingredients to improve digestive health as well as fortified products to address local micronutrient deficiencies, thereby adapting biscuits to local tastes and needs.  Nutrition is one of three main focus areas of Nestlé’s Creating Shared Value strategy based on our assessment that nutritional awareness and the desire for improved health and wellness will increasingly drive consumer choice and aiming to create both financial value for shareholders and nutritional value for lower-income populations.

As part of its ongoing commitment to deliver superior nutrition in its cereals, Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW) -- a joint venture between Nestlé and General Mills has committed to reduce sugar levels in cereals advertised to children by an average of 20%. Having reduced sugar in cereals advertised to children since 2004, CPW’s commitment to reduce sugar content further by an average of 20% will be carried out using existing technologies – as well as through advances that will be developed by the new CPW Innovation Centre, once it is fully operational by the middle of 2010. Christi Strauss, President and CEO of Cereal Partners Worldwide, said: “Throughout the years, CPW has invested to deliver superior nutrition in its cereals.  This is another important commitment that we are confident will be well received by consumers. By making this commitment, we will continue to deliver the superior nutrition that millions of consumers around the world have come to expect from us.” Ms Strauss stressed that the taste of the cereals will not change and added: “Reducing sugar without sacrificing the taste is a challenge.  But our joint venture has developed capabilities that are second to none in the food business. We can leverage these breakthroughs. It will require technology, time and substantial levels of ongoing investment, but we are committed to this initiative.” Throughout the past decade, CPW has led numerous innovations in cereal that deliver superior health and nutrition to consumers.  Due to the sugar reduction it has already achieved, CPW estimates that over 5,000 tonnes of sugar have been removed from its global food supply.

The seventh CSR Asia Summit was held in Kuala Lumpur on 27 and 28 October 2009 and aimed to be the most innovative and challenging conference on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Asia-Pacific region. The participants were reminded that amidst the global economic crisis, CSR is more important than ever. With the theme “Sustainable Business as the Road to Recovery”, the event was attended by more than 300 delegates from all over Asia. It explored key CSR issues and strategies to demonstrate leadership in times of turbulence. Nestlé Malaysia was an active participant in the Summit, featuring exhibits to introduce Nestlé’s concept of CSR, which is Creating Shared Value (CSV). The booth showcased both local and global CSV initiatives, as well as Nestlé Malaysia’s reporting initiatives. Nestlé’s CSV initiatives in Nutrition, Water and Rural Development were highlighted as exhibits as well as via a video. Apart from the breakout sessions, roundtables, training and stakeholder sessions were also organised for the delegates. The topics were mainly focused on Asia and brought new insights for businesses, governments, NGOs and other CSR practitioners.

If you prepare your meals at home and are looking for a few easy, healthy cooking tips, then look no further. This message from the Clearly Health channel shows how making changes to your ingredients and preparation, like substituting evaporated milk for cream and using the oven rather than pan-frying, are effective ways to lower the amount of fat in your diet. Making incremental changes like these to our daily habits can help us all maintain a healthy diet – and it is vital to educate our children on healthy cooking and eating.

The Feeding Infant and Toddler Study 2008 was presented at the ADA Conference & Expo in Denver, Colo. tonight.  The following provide more information about the study release: Background and purpose

• The Nestlé Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) is a dietary intake survey with a large, representative, cross-sectional sample of parents and caregivers that provides information on the eating patterns and nutrient intakes of infants, toddlers and preschoolers living in the United States.
• The major objective of FITS is to learn about the nutrient intakes and gaps of the youngest U.S. population group and to understand what foods are being consumed at different developmental stages when the diets of young children is rapidly changing.
• Nestlé FITS 2008 data were collected for a sample of 3,378 children age zero-to-four years and provides important information on what foods are eaten at various different stages of development as children transition from an all milk diet onto the foods of the family.
• Nestlé FITS 2008 is the second study of its kind. In 2002 Gerber Products Company, now a part of the Nestlé family, commissioned the groundbreaking FITS 2002 dietary survey of 3,000 infants and toddlers ages four--to-24 months, in response to the childhood obesity epidemic.

Design and population

• The Nestlé 2008 FITS study focused specifically on a few core areas: nutrient intake and food consumption patterns of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers from age zero-to-four years using a standardized 24-hour dietary recall method.
• Mathematica Policy Research, a nonpartisan research firm, conducted the study on behalf of Nestlé. Mathematica also conducted the FITS 2002 study. The Nutrition Coordinating Center (NCC) at the University of Minnesota worked with Mathematica to collect the dietary recalls.
• Telephone interviews were conducted to recruit participants, to collect food and nutrient intake data, and to collect additional information on household demographics, growth and development and feeding/consumption patterns.
• FITS 2008 updates information on the diets of children age four-to-24 months from FITS 2002 and provides new information on the diets of children age 24-48 months.
  • FITS 2002 included a survey of 3,022 infants and toddlers age four-to-24 months
  • FITS 2008 includes 3,378 infants and young children from birth-to-four years of age

A foundation to build on

• Nestlé FITS 2008 reveals both progress and areas of concern in the diets of young children in the United States. The data show some positive trends versus 2002— infants are being breastfed longer; and fewer infants and toddlers are consuming sweets and sweetened beverages on a given day.  However, other findings are less positive — on a given day, many toddlers and preschoolers aren’t eating a single serving of vegetables or fruit and they are consuming diets less than the recommended 30-to-40 percent of calories from fat.  Most preschoolers are eating too much saturated fat and sodium.
• FITS 2008 data suggest that parents are hearing and following the feeding guidance for infants, yet there is continued work that needs to be done to reinforce good feeding habits as children become toddlers and preschoolers and begin eating from the family table.
• More guidance and support is needed to help parents better transition from feeding a baby to meeting the unique nutrition and feeding needs of a toddler or preschooler. The diets of toddlers and preschoolers are mirroring the unhealthy eating patterns often seen in older children and adults.
• FITS 2002 was the foundation of the Start Healthy, Stay Healthy™ nutrition system, Nestlé’s patent-pending stage-based nutrition system that combines products, education and services to foster healthy growth and development and the early establishment of healthy eating habits from birth to preschool. Start Healthy, Stay Healthy Milestones Symbols™ direct parents to the information and products tailored to their child’s developmental stage. The insights from FITS, along with dietary recommendations from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Academy of Sciences/ Institute of Medicine (NAS/ IOM) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) are the foundation of theStart Healthy, Stay Healthy nutrition system, feeding guidelines and resources¹.

• FITS 2008 builds on this foundation with updated research to further understand nutrient intakes and early-childhood eating patterns and to determine whether parents and caregivers have modified the diets of their children. The data will provide new insights on the diets of preschoolers and will help to determine whether parents and caregivers have modified the diets of their children age four-to-24 months.

1. Not sponsored or endorsed by the USDA, NAS/IOM

Parents and caregivers are hearing and following the feeding guidance for infants, yet continued work needs to be done to help them also build good eating habits for their growing children, suggests data from the Nestlé Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) released today at a symposium at the American Dietetic Association’s Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo. The study reveals both progress and areas of concern in the diets of young children in the United States. The data show some positive trends versus 2002 when Gerber Products Company, now part of the Nestlé family, first commissioned the FITS study.  Infants are being breastfed longer; and fewer infants and toddlers are consuming sweets and sweetened beverages on a given day. However, other findings are less positive—on a given day, many toddlers and preschoolers aren’t eating a single serving of vegetables or fruit; and many toddlers and preschoolers are consuming diets less than the recommended 30-to-40 percent of calories from fat.  Most preschoolers are eating too much saturated fat and sodium. The FITS findings suggest that more guidance and support is needed to help caregivers better transition from feeding their babies to meeting the unique nutrition and feeding needs of a toddler or preschooler. As a result, too many young children are mirroring the often unhealthy eating patterns of American adults. Leveraging science to nourish a healthier generation “Good nutrition from birth through preschool sets the foundation for healthy habits later in life,” said Dr. Kathleen Reidy, Head, Nutrition Science, Meals & Drinks, Nestlé Nutrition. “The Nestlé FITS data provide a rich source of information and we’ll continue to analyze the data for new insights, sharing and applying our findings to advance the quality of children’s diets.” Nestlé FITS is a dietary intake survey of a large, cross-sectional sample of parents and caregivers that provides a snapshot of the eating patterns and nutrient intakes on a given day of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers living in the United States. Data were collected for a sample of 3,378 children age zero-to-four years and provided important information on what foods are eaten at various different stages of development as children transition from an all milk diet onto the foods of the family. Nestlé FITS 2008 is an updated and expanded survey from FITS 2002 that provided dietary data on a sample of 3,000 infants and toddlers age four-to–24 months. The 2008 study offers a comparison to 2002 for those children age four-to-24 months, and provides new data and insight into the eating patterns and nutrient intakes of children age zero-to-three months and preschoolers. Mathematica Policy Research, a nonpartisan research firm, conducted the study on behalf of Nestlé. Mathematica also conducted the FITS 2002 study. “Parents and caregivers need support and education around the unique nutrition needs of young children,” said Dr. Nancy Butte, PhD. Professor, USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine. “The 2008 FITS data shows us that more feeding guidance is needed during the transition to table foods. We are seeing eating patterns in toddlers and preschoolers that mirror those of adults—24 percent of children ages two-to-five are overweight or obese in the United States. We need to put more focus on establishing healthy eating patterns during the first four years.”

2008 Nestlé FITS Study Highlights

• Fewer infants are consuming sweets or sweetened beverages. Seventeen percent of infants age six-to-eight months, consumed a dessert, sweet or sweetened beverage on a given day versus 36 percent in 2002. A similar change was seen for children age    nine-to-11 months old, with 43 percent in 2008 versus 59 percent in 2002 consuming any dessert, sweet or sweetened beverage.
• Fruit and vegetable consumption remains a problem for all age groups studied. About 25 percent of older infants, toddlers and preschoolers don’t eat a single serving of fruit on a given day, and 30 percent don’t eat a single serving of vegetables. These findings are similar to those in FITS 2002 for infants and toddlers.
• Fewer toddlers were consuming sweetened beverages in 2008 than in 2002. This was especially true among children age 12-to-14 months (14 percent drank a sweetened beverage on a given day in 2008 versus 29 percent in 2002) and children18-to-20 months (29 percent in 2008 versus 47 percent in 2002).
• On a given day 23 percent of toddlers 12-to-24 months and one third of preschoolers are consuming diets of less than the recommended 30-to-40 percent of calories from fat.            Yet, 75 percent of preschoolers are consuming too much saturated fat.
• Mothers are breastfeeding their children longer. In 2008, 33 percent of nine-to-11 month olds are still receiving breast milk compared to just 21 percent in 2002.

Other survey findings

• French fries are still the most popular vegetable among toddlers and preschoolers. However, among older babies there were improvements, and French fries are no longer ranked in the top five vegetables among infants age nine-to-11 months, compared to FITS 2002, when French fries ranked among the top vegetables in the diets of older infants on a given day.
• There is a significant reduction in the number of infants, age four-to–11 months, consuming juice on a given day, versus 2002.
• A small but important number of older infants are not getting enough iron. Twelve percent of children from six-to-11 months of age are not getting enough iron on a given day.
• Seventy-one percent of toddlers and eighty-four percent of preschoolers consume more sodium than recommended on a given day.

A dietary snapshot by developmental stage The Nestlé FITS 2008 findings provide insight into the diets of children at key developmental stages—infants, toddlers and preschoolers. The good news is that caregivers are hearing and following the feeding guidance for infants, yet FITS 2008 shows that more progress is needed in the diets of toddlers and preschoolers. Compared to FITS 2002, the number of months children breastfeed is longer, which builds the child’s immunity, aids a growing baby’s brain and eye development, and may help to lower the child’s risk of developing allergies and infections. What’s more, the introduction of juice is being delayed for infants, and fewer are consuming French fries, sweetened beverages and sweets on a given day. While FITS 2008 shows positive trends in the diets of infants, the data reveal that some older infants have low intakes of iron and consumption of iron-fortified infant cereal is being stopped earlier. As infants grow into toddlers, it is clear from the FITS 2008 findings that more nutrition guidance for parents is needed for this important developmental stage. Overall, on a given day, toddlers are meeting most of their nutrient requirements for healthy growth and development, however, FITS data show gaps in the intake of vegetables, fruit, fiber, vitamin E, potassium and total fat. The data reflect promising downward trends among toddlers in the consumption of French fries, sweets and sweetened beverages, but more improvement is needed. FITS 2008 provides a first-of-its-kind nutrition snapshot of preschoolers (children ages 24-to-48 months). The findings show that on a given day, many preschoolers have unhealthy eating patterns reflective of the diets of older children and adults in the United States. In particular, preschoolers are not consuming enough fruits and vegetables, fiber, potassium and vitamin E and are taking in too much saturated fat and sodium. Help for parents: Start Healthy, Stay Healthy^TM FITS 2002 was the foundation of the Start Healthy, Stay Healthy™ nutrition system, Nestlé’s patent-pending stage-based nutrition system that combines products, education and services to foster healthy growth and development and the early establishment of healthy eating habits from birth to preschool. Start Healthy, Stay Healthy Milestones Symbols™ direct parents to the information and products tailored to their child’s developmental stage. The insights from FITS, along with dietary recommendations from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Academy of Sciences/Institute of Medicine (NAS/ IOM) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) are the foundation of the Start Healthy, Stay Healthy feeding guidelines and resources.¹

1. Not sponsored or endorsed by the USDA, NAS/IOM

The webcast on the Emerging Global Food Crisis got me thinking about the sustainability of feeding programs alongside a food crisis. At the moment, Nestlé Philippines has a feeding program in place and its sustainability is dependent on the parent volunteers through the improvement of their livelihoods, which will eventually enable them to run the feeding program on their own. In essence, however, the sustainability of a feeding program is also largely dependent on the availability of food. The presence of a school garden can be one solution to this availability problem. Just to illustrate, in Rwanda, the planted school gardens benefited the school and the community in several ways. They increased the students’ knowledge on food security and nutrition. The students acquired gardening skills, and most importantly the school garden provided constant food supply for the ongoing feeding programs in place. Some schools in the area were even provided cow sheds and hen houses, as well as Friesian cows to care for. These cows were used for the children's milk consumption while cow dung was used for soil fertility. The feeding program enabled the schools to save money in the long run as their food supply came from their own garden. Any surplus in produce was sold to the community to garner profit, thus benefiting the school even more in the process. To know more about the Rwandan School Gardens click on this link: School Garden in Rwanda Often times, land space and availability are issues to consider when it comes to producing school gardens. Click on the link to see how an NGO called Send a Cow in Uganda tackled that problem by creating “bag gardens.” Send a Cow, Uganda

The Nomination Period for the Nestlé Prize in Creating Shared Value will close on October 31^st and we would welcome applications in the field of nutrition, so do not hesitate to nominate worthy projects or encourage self-nominations! Examples of nutrition entries could be found in the fields of food science and technology, fortification, nutrition education and healthy lifestyles programmes, or other initiatives aimed at fighting malnutrition. The nomination form is available here. The Nestlé Prize in Creating Shared Value seeks to encourage and reward innovative approaches to the problems of nutrition, water, or rural development. Information on how to participate can be found on http://www.nestle.com/CSV/CSVatNestle/CsvPrize/About.htm We have already received many great nominations from all over the world. Most projects nominated so far seek to improve access to and management of water or improve the lives of farmers and rural communities. Nestlé will commit to the Prize winner an investment of up to CHF 500,000 for a specified period of time, to assist in the development and scale-up of the innovation. You can also help us spread the word about the Nestlé Prize by talking about it on your blog, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn or by sending the Nestlé Prize flyer (attached below) to your local charity, NGO or community group. Creating Shared Value Prize Brochure (PDF)

If you are a registered dietitian, nutrition science researcher, health-care provider, or interested in meeting with over 10,000 industry leaders and corporate exhibitors – then mark your calendar for the ADA’s 2009 Food & Nutrition Conference in October. Each year, the American Dietetic Association brings together policy makers and industry leaders to address key issues affecting the health of America. ADA’s annual conference features more than 100 research and educational presentations, lectures, debates, panel discussions and culinary demonstrations. More than 300 exhibitors from corporations, government and nonprofit agencies will showcase new consumer food products and nutrition education materials. ADA’s 2009 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo will be held October 17-20 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colo.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is bringing a comprehensive wellness program to John Trix elementary in Detroit. Like Nestlé’s Healthy Steps for Healthy Lives, the Healthy Schools program empowers kids with physical activity, healthy lunches, and nutrition and wellness education.

This study from the California Center for Public Health Advocacy estimated obesity cost the state of California over $20.7 billion in direct obesity health care in 2006. The number rises to over $40 billion when the report factored in time and productivity lost due to obesity.

Check out this series from the National Food Service Management Institute’s Cook for Kids on quick and easy ways to turn fruits into delicious meals and snacks. The first video features a neat partnership between local farms and elementary schools in Mississippi. The farmers love the community business and the kids love all the fresh produce!

Check out this video about the mission of our Lean Cuisine brand, and how portion-controls and a balanced diet play an important role in the obesity epidemic. Professor James O. Hill, Director of the Centre for Human Nutrition, University of Colorado, tells us that people respond to external cues on how hungry they are.  In short - ‘The more on your plate, the more you eat.’  Besides offering a delicious and nutritiously balanced meal, Professor Hill also thinks that the Lean Cuisine brand helps consumers learn what a proper portion size looks like. 2/3 of adults are overweight and by all indications the obesity epidemic has affected the younger generation as well.  Reversing this trend requires behavior changes; Lucian Vendome, a chef from our Culinary Centre thinks, ‘It’s about innovation, it’s about passion, vision, a commitment to quality.  And it all begins here, in the kitchens.’