Puerto Rico – November 16, 2010 – ConAgra Mills® has announced its entry into the milling of premium-quality rice for the Puerto Rican market through its Molinos de Puerto Rico business unit. Molinos de Puerto Rico will mill and package premium-quality medium-grain rice in three-pound paper bags for the retail market. The state-of-the art milling unit has the capacity to produce 180,000,000 pounds of packaged rice, offering new options for local retailers, foodservice operators and food processors.

The expanded capability for Molinos de Puerto Rico leverages and extends its current infrastructure to maximize efficiency and provide a competitive rice option for the island. Emphasis is placed on quality rice, automation and superior customer service. The new milling and packaging unit can also package rice into 20 lb. plastic bags or bulk packaging in addition to 3-lb. paper.

“The added capabilities at our Molinos de Puerto Rico complex are an example of the innovation that our organization strives to deliver.  By listening to and investing in the unique needs of the Puerto Rican market, we are better able to serve our customers not only in Puerto Rico but also in the surrounding area,” said Bill Stoufer, president of ConAgra Mills.

“Our outstanding operational capabilities and scale make Molinos de Puerto Rico ideally suited to meet the need for premium rice with superior quality and customer service,” said Jon Stuewe, president of Molinos de Puerto Rico. “This is the next step in the company’s history of innovation in Puerto Rico. We’re proud of the contributions we’ve made to the food industry here and look forward to continuing to innovate for our customers.”

In 2009 Molinos de Puerto Rico added a unit dedicated to producing Ultragrain®.  Ultragrain is the revolutionary whole-wheat flour that provides the benefits of whole grain nutrition with the smoother texture, milder flavor and lighter color of refined white flour. Ultragrain is used to produce many of the better-for-you whole wheat white products sold on the island. Molinos de Puerto Rico also produces various products under the Amapola brand name for retail including wheat flour, self-rising flour, corn flour, cremita and oatmeal.