Schwan strives to increase the nutritional value of its food products by replacing artificial ingredients with more familiar ingredients.

The Schwan Food Co. has launched an initiative to simplify its products’ ingredient lists by eliminating four ingredient groups from its food portfolio in order to make foods with more familiar ingredients. Schwan strives to evolve its foods to meet the health and wellness expectations of consumers.

The company is committing to eliminate the following ingredient groups from the food made by its Schwan’s Global Supply Chain Inc. subsidiary:

• Partially hydrogenated oils and artificial trans fats. The company eliminated added trans fats from the vast majority of foods leading up to 2007. It has committed to eliminating partially hydrogenated oils — a source of trans fats — in all foods by the end of 2015.
• Artificial (certified) dyes. The company has committed to removing artificial dyes from all foods by the end of 2015.
• High-fructose corn syrup. The company has set a goal to eliminate high-fructose corn syrup by the end of 2016.
• Artificial flavors. The company has set a goal to eliminate artificial flavors by the end of 2017.

These changes are being made while maintaining consumer expectations for taste and quality.

“As a frozen-food leader, we are committed to offering quality foods made with the same recognizable ingredients you would find in your pantry,” said Dimitrios Smyrnios, CEO of The Schwan Food Company. “We are working to eliminate artificial trans fats, partially hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors and dyes over the next two years, and we will continue to evaluate our ingredient lists to ensure we are satisfying consumer expectations.”

The ingredient simplicity initiative is a continuation of the company’s focus on providing food that meet a variety of consumer needs, including certified gluten free, certified organic, no sugar added, low sodium, low calorie, vegetarian and heart-healthy options that are already available in its broad portfolio.

“Consumer satisfaction and overall experience with our food is of the utmost importance to our company and employees,” said Stacey Fowler, senior vice president of Product Innovation and Development at The Schwan Food Co. “Our team is hard at work to deliver foods that are free from unfamiliar ingredients and provide consumers with a great experience.”

The commitment announced today is to eliminate these ingredient groups from Schwan- branded foods sold by every subsidiary of The Schwan Food Co., including Schwan’s Home Service Inc., Schwan’s Consumer Brands Inc. and Schwan’s Food Service Inc.