Sara Lee Australia
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Owned |
CAN |
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Bakery products
Sara Lee Corporation was renamed Hillshire Brands Company after spinning off its international coffee and tea business in June 2012. Sara Lee Australia's coffee and tea operations are now part of D.E Master Blenders 1753. Hillshire Brands sold its Australian bakery unit, Kitchens of Sara Lee, to McCain Australia in Feb 2013.
Company Ownership
Kitchens of Sara Lee Pty Ltd | AUS | website | ||||
McCain Foods (Aust) Pty Ltd ![]() owns 100% of Kitchens of Sara Lee Pty Ltd |
AUS | website | ||||
Frozen food producer McCain established their Australian subsidiary in 1968, and currently operates eight production facilities, which are located on five sites throughout Australia and New Zealand. Acquired Kitchens of Sara Lee Pty Ltd from Hillshire Brands in 2013 for $85 million. | ||||||
McCain Foods Ltd ![]() owns 100% of McCain Foods (Aust) Pty Ltd |
CAN | website | ||||
Potato processors McCain Foods is the #1 French fry maker in the world, processing about one million pounds of French fries and other potato products per hour. The McCain family began producing french fries in 1957 and still owns the company. Today they operate 50 plants around the world and their products sell in more than 130 countries. |
Company Assessment
PRAISE | CRITICISM | INFORMATION | ||
Kitchens of Sara Lee Pty Ltd | ||||
No assessment data currently available for Kitchens of Sara Lee Pty Ltd | ||||
McCain Foods (Aust) Pty Ltd | ||||
Signatory to the Australian Packaging Covenant, a voluntary agreement to encourage waste minimisation.
Source: Australian Packaging Covenant (2020) |
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)
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)
This company has been criticised by CHOICE for refusing to place health star ratings on their products.
Source: CHOICE (2015)
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) |
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McCain Foods Ltd | ||||
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)
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 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) |
Company Details
Type | Wholly-owned subsidiary |
Aus Manufacturing | Yes |
Contact Details
Address | Railway Crescent, Lisarow, NSW, 2250, Australia |
Phone | 02 4329 8444 |
Fax | 02 4328 2744 |
Freecall | 1800 065 056 |
consumerservices@saralee.com.au | |
Website | www.saralee.com.au |
Products / Brands
Sara Lee Australia
Bon Gateaux Frozen Desserts/Fruit Sara Lee Frozen Desserts/Fruit Sara Lee Ice Cream Sara Lee Pies & Pasties |