Yoplait® Original Yogurt Announces Innovation in Product Formulation -- Now with 50 Percent Daily Value of Calcium in Every Cup

Nancy O’Dell Partners With Yoplait Original Yogurt on a One Million Cup Giveaway, Making Calcium Consumption Even Easier for Women

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Recent findings by the Institute of Medicine indicate that many people get their daily calcium from supplements as well as foods, including yogurt. On the heels of this news, Yoplait^® today announced a product innovation that will make it easier for women to add more calcium to their diet. Now, newly reformulated and great tasting Yoplait Original yogurt has two times the calcium of the leading yogurt with 50 percent of the Daily Value in every cup (500mg).

“Your OWN Show: Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star”

In celebration of its commitment to calcium, Yoplait is giving away one million free cups of Yoplait Original yogurt starting today*. Yoplait lovers everywhere can visit Yoplait’s Facebook page to sign up to receive a free cup of Yoplait Original yogurt and make a personal commitment to meeting recommended calcium requirements, each day.

Nancy O’Dell, of “Entertainment Tonight” and co-anchor of “Your OWN Show: Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star”; as well as author of the new book Full of Love has partnered with Yoplait and the One Million Cup Giveaway to help raise awareness of the importance of maintaining strong, healthy bones through an active lifestyle and a diet rich in calcium.

“As an adult, I recognize, more than ever, the importance of calcium and my overall bone health, and as a busy mom, I’m always seeking out easy ways to stay healthy,” explained O’Dell. “I am partnering with Yoplait to educate women on the importance of getting enough calcium in their daily diets. Along with exercise, a proper diet rich in calcium can help maintain a strong and healthy body.”

Many processes in the human body need calcium to function. If the body doesn’t get enough calcium from the diet, it can take calcium from bones**. Yoplait has always contained the key vital bone-building nutrients women need but now, with 50 percent of the Daily Value of calcium and vitamin D in each cup, it has even more.

“Your bones can begin to change as early as your 30’s, and over time you can begin to experience bone loss. That’s why it’s so important to get enough calcium in your diet, as it helps to maintain strong bones,” said Katherine Brooking, M.S., R.D., registered dietitian. “Along with calcium, vitamin D is also important to women’s health as it helps the body absorb calcium. Yoplait is the only leading yogurt with calcium and vitamin D in every single serving, and now with 50% of the Daily Value of calcium and vitamin D, Yoplait Original is an easy and great tasting way for women to get more of each every day.”

“At Yoplait, we are dedicated to women’s health and are proud to offer a product that gives women more of the calcium and vitamin D they need for strong, healthy bodies,” said Becky O’Grady, General Mills’ vice president of marketing for the Yoplait brand.

For more than 12 years, Yoplait has played a part in women's well-being, promoting breast health through its Save Lids to Save Lives^® program. Through Yoplait’s Save Lids to Save Lives campaign, special pink lids topped Yoplait yogurt cups in September and October. For every pink lid saved and sent in by Dec. 31, 2010, Yoplait will donate 10 cents to Susan G. Komen for the Cure^®, up to $1.6 million, with a guaranteed minimum donation of $500,000. During the past 12 years, Yoplait has donated more than $25 million to the breast cancer cause through Save Lids to Save Lives and other initiatives.

Yoplait Original offers 25 delicious flavors with all the nutrition and goodness of yogurt with the delicious blended creaminess of Yoplait. Yoplait Original yogurt is available nationwide at a suggested retail price of $0.79 per 6 oz cup.

For more information and a free cup of Yoplait Original, visit www.Facebook.com/Yoplait or www.yoplait.com.

*Details of the One Million Cup Giveaway can be found at www.yoplait.com/calcium

**National Institutes of Health Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases: National Resource Center.

About General Mills

One of the world's leading food companies, General Mills operates in more than 100 countries and markets more than 100 consumer brands, including Cheerios, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Progresso, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., General Mills had fiscal 2009 global net sales of US$15.9 billion, including the company’s $1.2 billion proportionate share of joint venture net sales. Visit www.generalmills.com.

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