Whole Grains Just Made School Lunch Menus a Whole Lot Better; New Whole-Grain Pizzas on Menus across U.S. Help Kids Live Life to The Max; New Ultragrain-powered Pizzas Get A+ on Taste from Kids, Tops in Nutrition for Parents & School Directors.

BALTIMORE -- School Districts Add to Menus Across Nation, Helps School Kids Meet New Whole-Grain Dietary Guidelines 

Whole grain goodness just made school lunch menus a whole lot better, for school kids, parents and school directors alike. With new studies confirming the benefits and appeal of its proprietary Ultragrain(R) whole-wheat flour, ConAgra Foods Inc. today introduced a new line of The Max whole-grain pizzas that deliver the nutrition parents and schools want, without sacrificing the taste kids love. And school foodservice directors are taking notice. With 28 million school lunches to serve every day, school districts across the U.S. are adding this great-tasting, nutritious option to their menus to satisfy kids' appetites and help power their active lives.

The new pizzas - unveiled by ConAgra Foodservice along with its El eXtremo(TM) whole-grain burritos & chimichangas - are made with the revolutionary Ultragrain whole-wheat flour launched last fall by ConAgra Food Ingredients that delivers whole-grain nutrition with a taste and texture similar to traditional refined white flour products. The new meals and studies are being showcased at the 2005 School Nutrition Association Annual National Conference in Baltimore, and 2005 Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting & Food Expo in New Orleans, both running July 17-20.

Getting Straight A's from School Kids on Taste, Parents & Schools on Nutrition

Do kids like it? A new University of Minnesota study(i) gives a resounding yes. Researchers found kids given a chance to eat pizza and other popular foods made with Ultragrain, and the same foods made with refined white flour, consumed as much or more of the Ultragrain foods. In a recent consumer taste test, (ii) students gave Ultragrain pizza straight A's.

How about schools? With the new Dietary Guidelines calling on Americans to eat more whole grains and 4.7 billion school lunches a year to serve, U.S. school districts by the thousands are signing up to put The Max whole-grain pizzas on their menus in the new school year,(iii) in states from Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania to Virginia.

"Students today face many demands on their energy and attention. We're always looking to add nutritious items to our menu, to help kids do their best. But meals need to taste good or they won't be eaten," says Lynn Kirkland, nutrition education coordinator, Gwinnett County Schools in Georgia, which ranks 20th of 14,000 U.S. school districts in size and serves 125,000 meals a day.(iv) "These new meals fulfill that need, giving us the best of both worlds. We appreciate the work ConAgra Foodservice has done to bring these nutritious whole-grain meals to the school lunch table."

"Because such a large proportion of U.S. children eat school meals, using white whole-wheat flour in grain food products served from school menus could make a significant contribution to increasing the overall whole-grain intake by children," Len Marquart, principal investigator of the study(v) at the University of Minnesota. A research grant for the study was provided by ConAgra Foods' Nutrition Center of Excellence.

U.S. Dietary Guidelines: American Kids Need More Whole Grains

Introduction of The Max pizzas and El eXtremo burritos with Ultragrain comes as the 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines and MyPyramid food guide, from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, recommend Americans improve their eating habits, health and well being by consuming a variety of foods, including more whole grains, fruit and vegetables, getting more exercise and maintaining a healthy weight. They recommend consuming three or more ounces of whole-grain foods per day, and getting at least half of daily grain servings from whole grains.

Today, one in three consumers doesn't meet the Dietary Guidelines, primarily children, according to an American Dietetic Association study.(vi) Preschool-age children don't even consume one serving of whole-grain foods a day, and adolescents consume only one serving a day. The study of more than 4,000 children ages 2 to 18 found that while kids are eating grains, they aren't choosing whole grains. Whole grains deliver important nutrients, such as fiber, B vitamins, minerals and other phytonutrients. Research also shows that diets rich in whole grains and low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol, may aid in weight management and help reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers.

New Whole-Grain Meals School Kids Love - To The Max

The Max whole-grain pizzas and El eXtremo whole-grain burritos with Ultragrain help school foodservice programs bring more whole-grain nutrition as well as great taste to lunch tables. Each new meal offers the following:(vii)

--Whole-grain goodness - the new pizzas and burritos have a whole-wheat flour, Ultragrain, as their first grain ingredient, and give school kids the nutritional benefits of a whole-grain product.

--School lunch bread & protein credits - each serving has 2-3.25 bread credits and 2 meat/meat alternative credits.

--Good source of fiber - each slice of pizza has 3-5 grams of fiber; each burrito has more than 7 grams of fiber.

--Great-tasting variety - the pizza comes in cheese and pepperoni for Stuffed Crust and Real Slice, and cheese for DoubleStuff. El eXtremo burritos come in cheese & bean, fiesta bean, beef & cheese, and beef & bean.

"In recent taste tests, students who tried our whole-grain pizza gave it an A+," said Chris Meinerding, director, Marketing, ConAgra Foodservice. "With Ultragrain, kids love whole grains a whole lot. Everyone wins with whole grain - from school directors to school kids." Student praise includes: "I like pizza and this is the best. I wish it was our school lunch;" "This is REALLY good and better than our school food;" and "I like everything about it - this pizza's perfect!"

Ultragrain: Secret Ingredient for Whole-Grain Goodness

The all-natural Ultragrain flour is the first sweeter, milder whole-grain wheat ground to the consistency of refined white flours. Ultragrain combines the milder flavor and lighter color advantages of specially sourced white whole wheat with patent-pending milling technology that is used to achieve the smooth, fine texture of refined white flour.(viii)

The Max new whole-grain pizzas and El eXtremo burritos are another innovation from the ConAgra School Foodservice Culinary Group, with support and counsel from ConAgra Food's Nutrition Center of Excellence (NCOE). The experts at NCOE help the company translate nutrition science and consumer insights into product innovation that meets changing lifestyle needs - reinforcing ConAgra Foods' commitment to offer a wide variety of great-tasting, nutritious foods to help Americans meet their individualized mealtime needs. The NCOE continues to work on new product innovations to satisfy consumers' demand for wellness products - including more whole-grain nutrition.

About ConAgra Foodservice

A segment of ConAgra Foods Inc., ConAgra Foodservice and its three business areas - Culinary Products, Seafood Products, and Specialty Potato Products - deliver a range of signature services and programs that can help reenergize operators' menus and build their business, including its new MenuSuccess approach to bundled menu solutions in key categories: BREAKFAST, SANDWICH, ENTREES, SIDES & APPETIZERS and CONDIMENTS & COMPONENTS, and its portfolio of branded school foodservice products. ConAgra Foodservice's school products - including The Max pizza, El eXtremo burritos, Chef Boyardee, Manwich, Lamb Weston and Hunt's snack pack puddings and tomato products - will be sampled at ANC show booth #208 in Baltimore from July 17-20. For more information, please visit www.conagrafoodservice.com.

About ConAgra Food Ingredients

ConAgra Food Ingredients, also with ConAgra Foods Inc., has introduced Ultragrain to food manufacturers and foodservice operators, who feature it in products and applications at both the retail and foodservice level. ConAgra Food Ingredients is a leading source for food ingredients and services, supplying a portfolio of ingredients such as vegetables, garlic and onions, capsicums, natural spices, seasonings, flavors, wheat flours, oat products and services to the food industry including distribution, risk management and global-ingredient sourcing. For more information, please visit IFT show booth #1947 in New Orleans from July 17-20 or www.conagrafoodingredients.com.

About ConAgra Foods

ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE:CAG) is one of North America's largest packaged food companies, serving restaurants and other foodservice establishments, and also consumer retailers, with popular brands that include: Armour, Angela Mia, Butterball, ConAgra Mills, Egg Beaters, El eXtremo, Fernando's, Gilroy Foods, Gulden's, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt's, La Choy, Lamb Weston, Orville Redenbacher's, Reddi-wip, Singleton, Slim Jim, Spicetec, Swiss Miss, The Max, Ultragrain and others. For more information, visit www.conagrafoods.com.

(i) Incorporating White Whole Wheat.., U.Minn Whole Grain Study, Len Marquardt et al., June 2005

(ii) ConAgra School Foodservice, recent blind consumer taste study, January 2005

(iii) ConAgra School Foodservice, customer data, July 2005

(iv) Largest 100 U.S. School Districts, Proximity, based on Census 2000 data, and Gwinnett County School District, July 2005

(v) Incorporating White Whole Wheat.., U.Minn Whole Grain Study, Len Marquardt et al., June 2005

(vi) American Dietetic Association, June 2005

(vii) ConAgra School Foodservice, product data; School Lunch credits per Food Nutrition Services, USDA, July 2005

(viii) ConAgra Food Ingredients, product data, July 2005