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Areas of progress MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS AT END 2011
Ensuring product
quality and safety
Improving the
nutritional quality
of our products
Strengthening the
natural qualities of
the Group’s products
Developing a range
of products accessible
to the greatest number
of people
50 • Bel Group 2011
Nutrition and responsible products
Developing nutritionally benefi cial products adapted to consumer needs and
accessible to the greatest number of people.
• The Group prepared food safety reference documents, which were disseminated internally through the local
CSR correspondents network.
• The Group mapped out its quality policy.
• The Group regularly kept track of local regulatory changes and implemented active monitoring measures as
part of its continuous improvement process.
• Several formulas were renewed in 2011, including:
- Vitamin B12-enriched The Laughing Cow ® in the Middle East and North Africa;
- Vitamin A, D3 and E-enriched The Laughing Cow ® blocks in Ukraine;
- Calcium fortifi ed The Laughing Cow ® in the Czech Republic;
- The Laughing Cow ® Light, with lower salt content in the United States;
- A specifi c formula for The Laughing Cow ® was tailored for school cafeterias (fat, calcium and vitamin D)
on behalf of Bel Foodservice.
• Stakeholders acknowledged the Group’s progress in the nutrition area:
- Bel France made its commitments offi cial by registering a voluntary charter to enhance the nutritional
content of Kiri and The Laughing Cow ® .
- French magazine Process Alimentaire named the Bel Group ”Manufacturer of the Year” in the healthnutrition
category.
• The Group continued to strengthen its nutritional expertise:
- The Group initiated a vast bibliographic review of eating habits and drivers among children
(taste development, education, sharing, pleasure, fun).
• R&D programs were pursued to reduce and even eliminate emulsifying salts in processed and fresh cheeses.
• Several renewed formulas were introduced in 2011, including:
- A new The Laughing Cow ® formula with one less additive in Slovakia and the Czech Republic;
- The Laughing Cow ® Light and The Laughing Cow ® Garlic and Fresh Herbs with one less additive in Canada;
- A new The Laughing Cow ® formula with two less additive for Bel Foodservice Europe;
- A cheddar Mini Babybel ® formula without preservatives, launched in countries where this product is sold.
• The Boost, Tempo and Performance Formule programs were rolled out at Group plants to lower pressure
on selling prices in an era of soaring raw material costs.
• In Vietnam, Bel sponsored a study on calcium and vitamin D defi ciencies in young children and women
of childbearing age, conducted by Vietnam’s National Institute for Nutrition.
• A fi rst ”hybrid” product experiment combining dairy and another ingredient was conducted in Vietnam.
Launched in September 2011, the dairy and rice-based range of products was specifi cally adapted
to the nutritional needs of Vietnamese children, with added vitamins, iodine and zinc.
• Exploratory projects were initiated to identify the most relevant countries for developing comparable models.