Nutrition

Improve heart health

Working with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa we raise awareness of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and the importance of a healthy diet and lifestyle in reducing CVD risk factors through our Flora ‘Test the Nation’ campaign. In 2010 we tested the cholesterol levels of approximately 22,000 people across the country. We intend to reach approximately 1 million more people by 2015 through a campaign to increase awareness and understanding of CVD and encourage heart healthy diet and lifestyle choices.

Flora is also the main sponsor of the annual Comrades Marathon.

Reduce salt levels

We are committed to continuously reducing the salt content of our foods portfolio.

• In line with the global programme we have already significantly reduced salt levels in our products.

• Our goal is to reduce the sodium levels in our products further by up to 25% to help consumers meet the recommended level of 6g of salt per day. We aim to achieve this through gradual salt reductions across our foods portfolio between 2010 and 2020.

• Beyond 2020 further gradual reductions will be made to assist consumers in reaching the 5g per day salt target.

Reduce saturated fat

We are committed to improving the fat composition of our products by reducing saturated fat as much as possible and increasing levels of essential fats.

• All of our Flora margarine and our Rama Original and Spread for Bread tubs already contain less than 33% saturated fat as a proportion of total fat.

• By 2012 a daily portion of our leading spread brands, Rama and Flora, will provide at least 15% of the essential fatty acids recommended by international dietary guidelines.

Nutrition, health & hygiene education

We are working with the Department of Basic Education and other partners to develop and implement a curriculum aligned schools programme to ensure that primary and secondary South African teachers and learners have access to appropriate information on hygiene, health and nutrition. We aim to provide the majority of schools in South Africa access to this information by 2012.

Better nutrition for kids’ growth

Together with the Department of Health and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN ) we are educating consumers on the importance of essential fatty acids and vitamins which are necessary for the growth of children.

We will continue to invest heavily in children’s nutrition education through relevant communication channels.

Partnerships

We collaborate with many public health partners in our efforts to improve the nutrition situation in our country, for example, nutrition and health academics, health care professionals, Government and non-Governmental organizations. Some of our key partners include the Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa, and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN ). We also support expert discussions and nutrition education for health care professionals, for example, we partnered with the Association for Dietetics in Southern Africa to convene the South Africa Expert Meeting on Health Significance of Fat Quality in the Diet, and in educating dietitians about margarine processing and nutritional value.

Future partnership aims

Our Rama and Flora Spreads already provide 35 million people with a substantial amount of their Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamins A, D, E and B vitamins, including folic acid. Our challenge is to do more - provide products which contribute to the micronutrient intake of more people, especially children, in South Africa in a way which iseconomically viable.