McCain Australia

Brands owned by this company were rated 'red' in Greenpeace's 2011 Truefood Guide, signifying they may include GM-derived ingredients in their products. This includes brands that either: contain GM derived ingredients; have no clear policy on GM-derived ingredients; and/or have ignored or refused Greenpeace's request for information regarding their policies on GM-derived ingredients.
[Source 2011][More on Genetic Engineering]

In 2010 McCain Foods was fined $145,000 after a worker's thumb was severed in a potato peeler three years earlier. The company pleaded guilty in Ballarat County Court to failing to maintain a safe working environment.
[Source 2010][More on Workers Rights]

This company has been criticised for offensive advertising. In 2016 the Advertising Standards Bureau upheld complaints about a television ad by this company on the grounds that it breached advertising codes. The ad opens with one young man bailing up and dancing stupidly in front of a pizza delivery driver on a motor scooter. While the driver is distracted a second young man steals a pizza from the container behind the driver. Several young men then eat the stolen pizza and a McCain pizza. They are blindfolded. The ad ends with one of these young men punching one of his friends in the head (both blindfolded), for what appears to be the fun of doing so. The ad was subsequently discontinued or modified.
[Source 2016][More on Irresponsible Marketing]

This company has been criticised by CHOICE for refusing to place health star ratings on their products.
[Source 2015][More on Product Safety]

In 2011 McCain was awarded the Parent Jury's Fame Award for Parents' Choice, for its school veggie patches campaign. The award congratulates food marketing campaigns that promotes healthy eating to children in a fun and appealing way. The Parents Jury is a children's health advocacy group.
[Source 2011][More on Irresponsible Marketing]

This company has products rated RED in Greenpeace Canada's "How to Avoid Genetically Engineered Foods" Shoppers Guide. Products on the RED list are likely to contain GE or GE-derived ingredients from the most widely grown GE crops, usually corn, soy, canola or cotton. Companies on this list have confirmed that their products may or are likely to be made with GE ingredients, or have not denied using GE foods when given the opportunity to do so.
[Source 2013][More on Genetic Engineering]

Friends of the Earth's 2014 report "Tiny Ingredients, Big Risks" names this company as one of over 200 transnational food companies engaged in nanotechnology research and development, and on their way to commercializing products. New studies are adding to a growing body of scientific evidence indicating nanomaterials may be toxic to humans and the environment.
[Source 2014][More on Product Safety]

This company has a number of corporate responsibility claims on its website.
[Source 2012][More on Sustainability Reporting]

This company is a member of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform, the main food industry initiative supporting the development of sustainable agriculture worldwide. Created by Nestle, Unilever and Danone in 2002, the SAI Platform is a non-profit organization to facilitate sharing, at precompetitive level, of knowledge and initiatives to support the development and implementation of sustainable agriculture practices involving the different stakeholders of the food chain.
[Source 2019][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]