McCain Australia

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: Advertising Standards Bureau (2016)

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: news article (2010)

Some, but not necessarily all, of this company's products are palm oil free. For more details, follow the link to see Borneo Orangutan Survival Australia's list of products which manufacturers have told them are palm oil free or contain segregated certified sustainable palm oil.
Source: BOS Australia (2020)

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: Parents Jury (2011)

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: Greenpeace Canada (2013)

As listed on the We Mean Business website, this company has committed to the following climate action initiatives: adopt a science-based emissions reduction target; commit to 100% renewable power.
Source: We Mean Business (2021)

This company is listed on the RSPCA Australia website as 'cage-free and proud', signifying a commitment to source 100% cage-free eggs by 2025. Essentially cage-free means barn laid, which is better than cage eggs, but still much worse than free-range or organic eggs when it comes to animal welfare.
Source: RSPCA Australia (2020)

This company has a number of sustainability claims on its website.
Source: company website (2020)

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: SAI Platform (2019)

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: FOE (2014)

The 2021 Food and Agriculture Benchmark assessed 350 keystone companies across the entirety of the food system, from farm to fork. It covers three dimensions where transformation is needed: nutrition, environment and social inclusion. This company ranked #55/350, with a total score of 36.1/100.
Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2021)