B&G Foods Set to Join Russell 3000 Index and Russell Microcap Index.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. -- B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE: BGS; AMEX: BGF), a manufacturer and distributor of high-quality, shelf-stable branded food products, announced today that it is set to join the broad-market Russell 3000[R] Index and Russell Microcap[TM] Index under the symbol "BGS" when Russell Investment Group reconstitutes its comprehensive set of U.S. and global equity indexes on June 22, according to a preliminary list of additions posted on www.russell.com.

Membership in the Russell 3000, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the large-cap Russell 1000[R] Index or small-cap Russell 2000[R] Index as well as the appropriate growth and value style indexes. Russell determines membership for its equity indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes.

The Russell 3000 serves as the U.S. component to the Russell Global Index, which Russell launched earlier this year.

Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. An industry-leading $4 trillion in assets currently are benchmarked to them.

Annual reconstitution of Russell's U.S. indexes captures the 4,000 largest U.S. stocks as of the end of May, ranking them by total market capitalization. The largest 1,000 companies in this ranking comprise the Russell 1000 and the next 2,000 companies become the Russell 2000. These investment tools originated from Russell's multi-manager investment business in the early 1980s when the company saw the need for a more objective, market-driven set of benchmarks in order to evaluate outside investment managers.

About Russell

Russell Investment Group aims to improve financial security for people by providing strategic advice, world-class implementation, state-of-the-art performance benchmarks, and a range of institutional-quality investment products. With more than $200 billion in assets under management, Russell serves individual, institutional and advisor clients in more than 40 countries. Russell provides access to some of the world's best money managers. It helps investors put this access to work in corporate defined benefit and defined contribution plans, and in the life savings of individual investors.

Founded in 1936, Russell is a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. Headquartered in Tacoma, Wash., U.S., Russell has principal offices in Amsterdam, Auckland, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Melbourne, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.

Russell's indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly. For more information on Russell indexes, go to www.russell.com.

About B&G Foods, Inc.

B&G Foods and its subsidiaries manufacture, sell and distribute a diversified portfolio of high-quality, shelf-stable foods across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. B&G Foods' products include hot cereals, jams, jellies and fruit spreads, canned meats and beans, spices, seasonings, marinades, hot sauces, wine vinegar, maple syrup, molasses, salad dressings, Mexican-style sauces, taco shells and kits, salsas, pickles and peppers and other specialty food products. B&G Foods competes in the retail grocery, food service, specialty store, private label, club and mass merchandiser channels of distribution. Based in Parsippany, New Jersey, B&G Foods' products are marketed under many recognized brands, including Ac'cent, B&G, B&M, Brer Rabbit, Cream of Rice, Cream of Wheat, Emeril's, Grandma's Molasses, Joan of Arc, Las Palmas, Maple Grove Farms of Vermont, Ortega, Polaner, Red Devil, Regina, San Del, Sa-son Ac'cent, Trappey's, Underwood, Vermont Maid and Wright's.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause the actual results of B&G Foods to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties readers are urged to consider statements labeled with the terms "believes," "belief," "expects," "intends," "anticipates" or "plans" to be uncertain and forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in B&G Foods' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.