Item 1. Business
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (“we,” “us,” “our,” “the Company,” or “Lamb Weston”), along with our joint venture partners, is a leading global producer, distributor, and marketer of value-added frozen potato products and is headquartered in Eagle, Idaho. We, along with our joint venture partners, are the number one supplier of value-added frozen potato products in North America. We, along with our joint venture partners, are also a leading supplier of value-added frozen potato products internationally, with a strong and growing presence in high-growth emerging markets. We, along with our joint venture partners, offer a broad product portfolio to a diverse channel and customer base in over 100 countries. French fries represent the majority of our value-added frozen potato product portfolio.
We were organized as a Delaware corporation in July 2016, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly, ConAgra Foods, Inc., “Conagra”). On November 9, 2016, we separated from Conagra and became an independent publicly traded company through the pro rata distribution by Conagra of 100% of our outstanding common stock to Conagra stockholders (“Separation”). Our common stock trades under the ticker symbol “LW” on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”).
Our consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries.
Considerations related to the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic
In calendar year 2020 and continuing into calendar year 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic and the actions of governmental authorities in the United States and other countries in efforts to control the spread of COVID-19, which
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included significant social and economic restrictions, had and continue to have, negative implications for portions of our business and the U.S. and global economy. In the preparation of these financial statements and related disclosures, we have assessed the impact that COVID-19 has had on our estimates, assumptions, and forecasts, and made additional disclosures, as necessary. As the COVID-19 situation is unprecedented and continues to persist, future events and effects related to the virus cannot be determined with precision, and actual results could significantly differ from estimates or forecasts.
See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this Form 10-K for further discussion of COVID-19 considerations.
Segments
We have four reportable segments: Global, Foodservice, Retail, and Other. For segment financial information see Note 14, Segments, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in “Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Form 10-K.
Global
Our Global segment includes frozen potato products sold in North America and international markets generally to the top 100 North American based restaurant chains and international customers comprised of global and regional quick service and full-service restaurant chains, foodservice distributors, and retailers. We have included foodservice and retail customers outside of North America in the Global segment due to efficiencies associated with coordinating sales to all customer types within specific markets, as well as due to these customers’ smaller scale and dependence on local economic conditions. The Global segment’s product portfolio includes frozen potatoes and appetizers sold under the Lamb Weston brand, as well as many customer labels.
Foodservice
Our Foodservice segment includes frozen potato products sold throughout the United States and Canada to commercial distributors, restaurant chains generally outside the top 100 North American based restaurant chains, and non-commercial channels. The Foodservice segment’s primary products are frozen potatoes, commercial ingredients, and appetizers sold under the Lamb Weston brand, as well as many customer labels.
Retail
Our Retail segment includes consumer facing frozen potato products sold primarily to grocery, mass merchants, club, and specialty retailers. The Retail segment’s primary products are frozen potatoes sold under our owned or licensed brands, including Grown in Idaho and Alexia , other licensed equities comprised of brand names of major North American restaurant chains, and the retailers’ own brands.
Other
The Other reporting segment primarily includes our vegetable and dairy businesses, as well as mark-to-market gains and losses associated with commodity hedging contracts before the commodities are used in our business segments .
Joint Venture Relationships
We conduct some of our business through three unconsolidated joint ventures and include our share of the earnings of these affiliates as equity method investment earnings in our consolidated financial statements based on our
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economic ownership interest in each of these joint ventures. These joint ventures produce and market value-added frozen potato products for our customers:
● We hold a fifty percent ownership interest in Lamb-Weston/Meijer v.o.f. (“Lamb-Weston/Meijer”), a joint venture with Meijer Frozen Foods B.V., that is headquartered in the Netherlands and manufactures and sells frozen potato products principally in Europe, Russia, and the Middle East.
● We hold a fifty percent ownership interest in Lamb-Weston/RDO Frozen (“Lamb Weston RDO”), a joint venture with RDO Frozen Co., that operates a single potato processing facility in Minnesota. We provide all sales and marketing services to Lamb Weston RDO and receive a fee for these services based on a percentage of the net sales of the venture.
● We hold a fifty percent ownership interest in Lamb Weston Alimentos Modernos S.A. (“LWAMSA”), a joint venture with Sociedad Comercial del Plata S.A., that is headquartered in Argentina. LWAMSA manufactures and sells frozen potato products principally in South America.
For more information, see Note 4, Investments in Joint Ventures, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in “Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Form 10-K.
Sales, Distribution and Customers
We benefit from strong relationships with a diverse set of customers. We sell our products through a network of internal sales personnel and independent brokers, agents, and distributors to chain restaurants, wholesale, grocery, mass merchants, club retailers, specialty retailers, and foodservice distributors and institutions, including businesses, educational institutions, independent restaurants, regional chain restaurants, and convenience stores. We have long-tenured relationships with leading quick service and fast casual restaurant chains, global foodservice distributors, large grocery retailers, and mass merchants.
Our largest customer, McDonald’s Corporation, accounted for approximately 11% of our consolidated net sales in fiscal 2021, and 10% of our consolidated net sales in both fiscal 2020 and 2019. No other customer accounted for more than 10% of our fiscal 2021, 2020, or 2019 consolidated net sales. No customer accounted for more than 10% of our consolidated accounts receivable as of May 30, 2021 or May 31, 2020.
Research and Development
We leverage our research and development resources for both growth and efficiency initiatives. We seek to drive growth through innovation by creating new products, enhancing the quality of existing products, and participating in joint menu planning exercises with our customers. We also emphasize sustainability in our research and development activities and continue to drive processing innovations aimed at reducing waste and water usage and improving food safety.
Trademarks, Licenses and Patents
Our trademarks are material to our business and are protected by registration or other means in the United States and most other geographic markets where the related food items are sold. Depending on the country, trademarks generally remain valid for as long as they are in use and their registrations are maintained. Trademark registrations generally are for renewable, fixed terms. Our significant trademarks include: Lamb Weston, Lamb’s Supreme, Lamb Weston Seeing Possibilities in Potatoes (and design), Lamb’s Seasoned, LW Private Reserve, Stealth Fries, and Sweet Things. We also sell certain products, such as Grown in Idaho and Alexia , which we license from third parties.
We own numerous patents worldwide. We consider our portfolio of patents, patent applications, patent licenses, proprietary trade secrets, technology, know-how processes, and related intellectual property rights to be material to our operations. Patents, issued or applied for, cover inventions, including packaging, manufacturing processes, equipment, formulations, and designs. Our issued patents extend for varying periods according to the date of the patent application filing or grant and the legal term of patents in the various countries where patent protection is obtained. The actual
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protection afforded by a patent, which can vary from country to country, depends upon the type of patent, the scope of its coverage as determined by the patent office or courts in the country, and the availability of legal remedies in the country.
Raw Materials
Our primary raw materials are potatoes, edible oils, and packaging. We source a significant amount of our raw potatoes under both strategic, long-term grower relationships and shorter-term annual contracts. In the United States, most of the potato crop used in our products is grown in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. For Lamb-Weston/Meijer, European growing regions for the necessary potatoes are concentrated in the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Russia. We also have potato growing regions in Canada, China, Australia, and Argentina that support our processing facilities in those countries. We believe that the grower networks to which we have access provide a sufficient source of raw potato inputs year-to-year. We source edible oils through strategic relationships with key suppliers, and we source packaging and energy inputs through multiple suppliers under a variety of agreement types.
The prices paid for these raw materials, as well as other raw materials used in making our products, generally reflect factors such as weather, commodity market fluctuations, currency fluctuations, tariffs, and the effects of governmental agricultural programs. Although the prices of raw materials can be expected to fluctuate as a result of these factors, we believe such raw materials to be in adequate supply.
From time to time, we have faced increased costs for our primary raw materials and energy inputs. We seek to mitigate higher input costs through long-term relationships, contract strategies, and hedging activities where an active market for an input exists, as well as through our pricing and productivity initiatives.
Manufacturing
We operate 18 manufacturing facilities for our products. See "Item 2. Properties" for more information about our manufacturing facilities. Our joint ventures operate a total of nine manufacturing facilities.
In addition to our own manufacturing facilities, we source a portion of our products under “co-packing” agreements, a common industry practice in which manufacturing is outsourced to other companies. We regularly evaluate our co-packing arrangements to ensure the most cost-effective manufacturing of our products and to utilize company-owned manufacturing facilities most effectively.
International Operations
At May 30, 2021, we had operations in eighteen countries, with manufacturing and processing facilities in four countries. See Note 14, Segments, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in “Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Form 10-K for additional information on our U.S. and non-U.S. operations. Also see “Item 2. Properties,” for more information on our manufacturing and other facilities. For a discussion of risks related to our operations outside the United States, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Form 10-K.
Competition
The value-added frozen potato products industry in North America, Europe and other international markets is highly competitive. Competitors include large North American and European frozen potato product companies that compete globally, as well as local and regional companies. Significant competitors include Agristo NV, Aviko B.V., Cavendish Farms Corporation, Clarebout Potatoes NV, Farm Frites International B.V., J.R. Simplot Company, The Kraft Heinz Company, McCain Foods Limited, and Mydibel S.A. Some of our competitors are larger and have substantially more financial, sales and marketing, and other resources. We compete with producers of similar products on the basis of, among other things, customer service, value, product innovation, product quality, brand recognition and loyalty, price, and the ability to identify and satisfy customer preferences. The markets in which we operate are expected to remain highly competitive for the foreseeable future. See also “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Increased competition may result in reduced sales or profits” of this Form 10-K.
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Seasonality
Our product contribution margin percentage, inventory levels, net sales, and cash flows are affected by seasonality. In general, our product contribution margin percentage tends to be highest in our fiscal third quarter, reflecting the cost benefit of freshly-harvested potatoes. We typically harvest potatoes in the Pacific Northwest of the United States in July through October, which is primarily in our fiscal second quarter. Freshly-harvested potatoes process more efficiently in our production lines and are not subject to storage or secondary transport costs. We typically hold 50 to 60 days of finished goods inventory on a first-in-first-out basis, so the relatively favorable costs primarily incurred from our fiscal second quarter harvest flow through our income statement in our fiscal third quarter. Inventory levels also tend to be higher in our fiscal third quarter, requiring more working capital at that time. In general, net sales and cash flows tend to be higher in our fiscal fourth quarter, reflecting customer and consumer buying patterns.
Due to severe impacts of the government mandated shutdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, seasonal variation in the demand for our products in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2021 differed from prior years.
Human Capital Resources
We believe that our employees and our workplace culture are among our most important assets, and that our employees are integral to our ability to achieve our strategic objectives. Attracting, developing, and retaining the best talent globally with the right skills to drive our mission, vision, and values are central components of our strategies for long-term growth. As of July 19, 2021, we had approximately 7,800 employees, of which approximately 800 employees work outside of the United States. As of July 19, 2021, approximately 27% of our employees are parties to collective bargaining agreements on terms that we believe are typical for the industry in which we operate. Most of the union workers at our facilities are represented under contracts that expire at various times throughout the next several years. Collective bargaining agreements that represent approximately 55% of our hourly employees, who are parties to collective bargaining agreements, are scheduled to expire over the course of fiscal 2022. As these agreements expire, we believe they will be renegotiated on terms satisfactory to us.
Health and Safety. Our employees’ health, safety, and well-being are our highest priority. We strive for world-class safety at every one of our facilities. This means we continuously focus on creating a zero-incident culture, where every employee goes home every day, accident free. To help achieve this goal, we foster safety leadership throughout the organization as part of our comprehensive environment, health, safety, and sustainability management system. Through ongoing communications, routine assessments of our safety programs, safety and job-related training, daily risk assessments at facilities, defined standards, and safety measures, we strive to improve our safety performance each year.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our manufacturing facilities were deemed essential under government guidelines and remained open and operational. Our primary focus and attention have remained directed towards the health and well-being of our employees and contractors, and we have taken numerous measures to keep them as safe as possible. These measures have included the implementation of enhanced sanitation protocols and preventative screenings at all our manufacturing facilities, providing masks and requiring social distancing for employees across all our facilities, modified time and attendance policies to provide better protection for employees, providing benefits that help support our employees and their families, and the implementation of interim remote work arrangements for functional support areas to comply with shelter-in-place orders and other federal and local government recommendations. In addition, as part of our commitment to our employees working in our factories during fiscal 2021, we continued to pay the employees regular wages and quarterly bonuses despite pandemic-related absenteeism or the shutdown of lines for site cleaning or other items.
Total Rewards. Our compensation and benefits are designed to support the financial, mental, and physical well-being of our employees. We are committed to equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or other personal characteristics. To deliver on that commitment, we benchmark and set pay ranges based on market data and consider various factors such as an employee’s role and experience, job location, and performance. We also regularly review our compensation practices to promote fair and equitable pay. In addition to base salaries, many employees also participate in an annual short-term incentive program and may also receive long-term equity awards. Benefits for employees include an employee savings 401(k) plan and company matching contributions, health insurance, disability
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insurance, life insurance, health savings and flexible spending accounts, wellness incentives, annual on-site health screenings, paid time off, family leave, parental leave, employee assistance programs, and tuition reimbursement opportunities. Eligibility for, and the level of, compensation and benefits vary depending on an employee’s full-time or part-time status, work location, job and career level, and tenure with the Company. We regularly review our compensation and benefit programs to ensure they are competitive and are designed to meet our employees’ health and wellness needs, which we believe is important to attract and retain the best available talent.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. As a global company, we honor and celebrate the diversity in our team, which we believe enriches our work lives and drives diversity of perspectives in our decision-making. We define diversity as the unique abilities, experiences, and cultural backgrounds our employees bring to our Company’s workplace. We are committed to providing a work environment that fosters respect, inclusion, fairness, and dignity, and is free of harassment, discrimination, or fear of retaliation.
Recruitment, Training, and Development. We believe maintaining a robust pipeline of talent is crucial to our ongoing success and is a key aspect of succession planning efforts across the organization. We use recruitment vehicles, including partnerships with universities and communities, local and national organizations, and various social media outlets, to attract strong talent to our organization. Our leadership and people teams are responsible for attracting and retaining top talent by facilitating an environment where employees feel supported and encouraged in their professional and personal development. Specifically, we promote employee development by regularly reviewing strategic positions and identifying potential internal candidates to fill those roles, evaluating job skill sets to identify competency gaps, and creating developmental plans to facilitate employee professional growth. We invest in our employees through training and development programs, including both custom internal training and external learning resources, utilizing both live and virtual learning experiences, on the job experiences, rotational assignments, annual and mid-year manager reviews and coaching. These offerings are designed to position employees to execute with excellence in their current roles, accelerate their learning curves, and grow their careers by taking advantage of continuing learning opportunities. For example, in our manufacturing facilities, we provide multiple training sessions focused on quality and safety. We also hold multi-day courses focused on leadership development for managers throughout our organization. In addition, with our e-learning resources, employees can also focus on timely and topical development areas, including leadership, management excellence, functional capabilities, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Employee Engagement. We believe that having a workplace culture that supports and values all employees is critical to our success. To understand employee sentiments, we conduct a bi-annual engagement survey of our global workforce. This survey is administered and analyzed by an independent third-party. The survey results are then reviewed by our executive leadership team and Board of Directors. Department leaders are also given the engagement survey results and are then tasked with taking action based on their employees’ anonymous feedback (both quantitative and qualitative). By paying close attention to the results, both at an aggregate enterprise level as well as at department, business, and work group levels, we believe that we have been able to enhance our workplace culture and improve overall employee engagement levels.
We are also committed to creating and building a culture of giving. We encourage and enable our employees to support many charitable causes. This includes volunteer program engagement promoted by the Company or employees. Our locations also manage their own community outreach programs through local giving committees, which provide opportunities for employees to financially engage with local nonprofits and volunteer their time. Annually, we make cash grants through the Lamb Weston Foundation, including through our Pay it Forward program, which gives our employees a role in directing some of the Foundation’s funds. In addition, we offer a matching gifts program to employees, paid volunteer time off, non-profit board service grants, and an employee dependent scholarship program.
For more detailed information regarding our programs and initiatives related to our people and human capital, please see our 2021 Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) Report, which is posted on our website at https://esg.lambweston.com. The information on our website, including our ESG Report, is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of this Form 10-K or incorporated into any other filings we make with the SEC.
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Information About Our Executive Officers
The following are our executive officers as of July 19, 2021:
Name
Title
Age
Thomas P. Werner
Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
55
Robert M. McNutt*
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
61
Micheline C. Carter
Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
55
John C. Hatto
Senior Vice President, Growth and Strategy
53
Sharon L. Miller
Senior Vice President and General Manager, Global Business Unit
55
Gerardo Scheufler
Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer
53
Michael J. Smith
Senior Vice President and General Manager of Foodservice, Retail, Marketing and Innovation
44
Eryk J. Spytek
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
53
*
In May 2021, Mr. McNutt notified us of his decision to retire, effective August 6, 2021. As previously disclosed, Bernadette M. Madarieta, our current Vice President and Controller, will succeed Mr. McNutt as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective August 6, 2021.
Thomas P. Werner has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors since November 2016. Prior to that, he served as President, Commercial Foods, for Conagra, a food company, since May 2015. In that role, he led the company’s Lamb Weston and Foodservice businesses, as well as its previously divested Spicetec Flavors & Seasonings and J.M. Swank operations. Mr. Werner also served as interim President of Conagra’s Private Brands from June 2015 through its divestiture in February 2016. Before his appointment as President, Commercial Foods, Mr. Werner served as Senior Vice President of Finance for Conagra’s Private Brands and Commercial Foods operating segments from June 2013 to April 2015, and Senior Vice President of Finance for Lamb Weston from May 2011 until June 2013.
Robert M. McNutt has served as our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since January 2017. Prior to joining Lamb Weston, Mr. McNutt served as Chief Financial Officer of Expera Specialty Solutions, LLC, a specialty paper company, from September 2013 to December 2016. Mr. McNutt served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Greif, Inc., an industrial packaging company, from January 2011 to July 2013, and as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Boise Inc., a packaging and paper products manufacturer, from February 2008 to January 2011.
Micheline C. Carter has served as our Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer since November 2016. Ms. Carter joined Lamb Weston in September 2016. From July 2012 until September 2016, she served in a variety of roles with The Kraft Heinz Company, a food and beverage company, including as Head of U.S. People and Performance and Global Corporate Functions from November 2015 to September 2016, Vice President of Human Resources, Global Corporate Functions from August 2015 until October 2015, Vice President of Human Resources, Cheese & Dairy from January 2015 until July 2015, and Senior Director Human Resources & Global Exports from July 2012 until January 2015. Before joining The Kraft Heinz Company, Ms. Carter served from February 2011 until July 2012 as Senior Director Human Resources, Solar Energy & Solar Materials with MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (now known as SunEdison, Inc.), a supplier of silicon wafers to semiconductor and photovoltaic cell companies.
John C. Hatto has served as our Senior Vice President, Growth and Strategy since January 2021. Before that, he served as Vice President, Customer Sales and Strategy, for our Foodservice business beginning in January 2015. Since joining the company in 2015, Mr. Hatto has played a leading role in major initiatives at Lamb Weston focused on capturing share growth. Prior to that, Mr. Hatto worked for the foodservice division of PepsiCo, Inc., a food and beverage company, for more than ten years in a variety of sales leadership roles, most recently as Vice President of Sales Strategy.
Sharon L. Miller has served as our Senior Vice President and General Manager, Global Business Unit since September 2016. Before that, she served as Conagra’s Vice President and General Manager, Lamb Weston Global
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Business Unit since 2015. Since joining Conagra in 1999, Ms. Miller has held various leadership positions, including Vice President of Sales for Lamb-Weston/Meijer. Prior to that, Ms. Miller was a key sales and business leader within Lamb Weston in both the United States and Canada. She also has held various sales positions with North American food manufacturers and foodservice distributors.
Gerardo Scheufler has served as our Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer since August 2019. Prior to joining Lamb Weston, Mr. Scheufler served as Vice President of Global Operations at Mondelez International, Inc., a food and beverage company, from July 2014 until August 2019. During his tenure at Mondelez International, Mr. Scheufler oversaw a major global restructuring program to optimize the global supply chain footprint, including the manufacturing, customer service, quality, logistics, health, safety and environment, and innovation functions. Prior to that, Mr. Scheufler spent more than 20 years at The Procter & Gamble Company, a consumer goods corporation, in a variety of roles of increasing responsibility after starting his career in plant operations in 1990.
Michael J. Smith has served as our Senior Vice President and General Manager of Foodservice, Retail, Marketing and Innovation since April 2018. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President, Growth and Strategy beginning in September 2016. Mr. Smith also served as Vice President and General Manager of Lamb Weston Retail from May 2011 to September 2016, Vice President and General Manager of Conagra’s Private Brands from March 2014 to February 2016, and Vice President of Global Marketing of Lamb Weston from July 2012 to March 2014. Prior to joining Conagra in 2007, Mr. Smith held various brand management roles at Dean Foods Company, a food and beverage company, and its WhiteWave division from May 2003 until December 2007.
Eryk J. Spytek has served as our Senior Vice President and General Counsel since October 2016 and as Corporate Secretary from October 2016 to November 2020. From June 2015 until October 2016, Mr. Spytek was Of Counsel at Winston & Strawn LLP, a law firm. Before returning to Winston & Strawn LLP, he served from December 2009 until April 2015 in a variety of roles with Mead Johnson Nutrition Company, a manufacturer of infant formula, including as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary from April 2013 to April 2015 and as Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary from December 2009 to April 2013. Before that, Mr. Spytek served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at SIRVA, Inc., a moving and relocation services provider, from February 2006 to February 2009. Before joining SIRVA, Inc., Mr. Spytek was a partner at Winston & Strawn LLP.
Ethics and Governance
We have adopted a code of conduct that applies to all of our employees, as well as a code of ethics for senior corporate financial officers that applies to our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Controller. These codes are available on our website at www.lambweston.com through the “Investors—Corporate Governance” link. We will disclose any waiver we grant to our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, or Controller under our codes, or certain amendments to the codes, on our website at www.lambweston.com.
In addition, we adopted Corporate Governance Principles and charters for the Audit and Finance Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and Compensation Committee. All of these materials are available on our website at www.lambweston.com and will be provided free of charge to any stockholder requesting a copy by writing to: Corporate Secretary, Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc., 599 S. Rivershore Lane, Eagle, Idaho 83616.
The information on our website is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of this Form 10-K or incorporated into any other filings we make with the SEC.
Food Safety and Labeling
We are subject to extensive regulation, including, among other things, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, as amended by the Food Safety Modernization Act, the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). This comprehensive and evolving regulatory program governs, among other things, the manufacturing, composition and ingredients, labeling, packaging, and safety of food, including compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices. In addition, the Nutrition Label Reform Act of 2016 and regulations promulgated thereunder by the FDA prescribe the format
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and content in which specific nutrition information is required to appear on the labels of food products. We are also subject to regulation by certain other governmental agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Our operations and products are also subject to state and local regulation, including the registration and licensing of plants, enforcement by state health agencies of various state standards, and the registration and inspection of facilities. Compliance with federal, state, and local regulation is costly and time-consuming. Enforcement actions for violations of federal, state, and local regulations may include seizure and condemnation of products, cease and desist orders, injunctions, voluntary or mandatory recalls or market withdrawals of products, and monetary penalties. We believe that our practices are sufficient to maintain compliance with applicable government regulations.
Environmental, Health and Safety Regulations
We are subject to a number of foreign, domestic, federal, state, and local laws and other regulations relating to the protection of human health, the environment and the safety and health of personnel. These requirements apply to a broad range of our activities, including: the regulation and discharge of pollutants into the air, land and water; the identification, generation, storage, handling, transportation, disposal, recordkeeping, labeling, spill prevention and reporting of, and emergency response in connection with, hazardous materials and chemical substances; noise and odor emissions from our facilities; and safety and health standards, practices, and procedures that apply to the workplace and the operation of our facilities.
In order to comply with these requirements, we may need to spend substantial amounts of money and other resources from time to time to (i) construct or acquire new equipment, (ii) acquire or amend permits to authorize facility operations, (iii) modify, upgrade, or replace existing and proposed equipment, and (iv) clean up or decommission our facilities or other locations in accordance with regulatory requirements. Our capital and operating budgets include costs and expenses associated with complying with these laws and other requirements.
Available Information
We make available, free of charge on our website at www.lambweston.com, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file them with, or furnish them to, the SEC. The SEC also maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC; the address of that site is https://www.sec.gov. We use our website, through the “Investors” link, as a channel for routine distribution of important information, including news releases, analyst presentations, and financial information. In addition, in June 2021, we released our ESG Report, which includes a description of our sustainability programs. The report can be found on our website at https://esg.lambweston.com. The information on our website, including our ESG Report, is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of this Form 10-K or incorporated into any other filings we make with the SEC unless expressly noted in any such other filing.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.