Raisio - Company Announcement

PLANT STANOL ESTER IN BENECOL® -PRODUCTS AMONG THE FIRST ON THE LIST OF HEALTH CLAIMS APPROVED BY THE EU COMMISSION

Raisio plc Stock Exchange Release 23 October 2009                              

PLANT STANOL ESTER IN BENECOL® -PRODUCTS AMONG THE FIRST ON THE LIST OF HEALTH
CLAIMS APPROVED BY THE EU COMMISSION 

Plant stanol ester, the cholesterol-lowering ingredient in Benecol® products, is
among the first ingredients to obtain a regulatory approval for the use of a    
disease risk reduction health claim under the Nutrition and Health Claim        
Regulation. This is the first authorisation for a disease risk reduction claim  
granted to food products within the European Community, and thereby represents  
an important landmark in European decision-making. 
The following health claim is permitted in the marketing of Benecol foods       
containing plant stanol ester: “Plant stanol ester has been shown to            
lower/reduce blood cholesterol. High cholesterol is a risk factor in the        
development of coronary heart disease.”                                         

The first health claims associated with the reduction of risk of disease        
pursuant to Article 14 were published in the Official Journal of the European   
Union on 22 October 2009. The Nutrition and Health Claim Regulation (EC No      
1924/2006) will revolutionise the use of health claims in Europe. Based on the  
regulation only approved health claims can be used in marketing of foods. For   
consumers, the introduction of approved health claims means that it will be     
easier to select food products with scientifically proven and validated effect. 

“The approval from the EU Commission strengthens the pioneering role of plant   
stanol ester used in Benecol products as an effective cholesterol-lowering food 
ingredient. We are very pleased with the approval”, says Ingmar Wester, R&D     
director at Raisio's Ingredients Division and the inventor of plant stanol      
ester. “Permitting the use of a health claim for plant stanol ester further     
strengthens the role of Raisio as the forerunner in cholesterol-lowering        
functional foods."

Helena Gylling, MD, professor of Clinical Nutrition at the University of Kuopio,
Finland, says: “This approval confirms the role of plant stanol ester in        
reducing cholesterol. It further underlines that the risk of coronary heart     
disease can indeed be reduced through diet."

Benecol is a global trademark owned by Raisio, and plant stanol ester is an     
ingredient patented worldwide by Raisio. Benecol products are currently sold in 
thirty countries on five continents. Almost 60 published clinical studies and 14
years of the safe use of plant stanol ester as a food ingredient support its use
as a means to lower blood cholesterol level.                                    

RAISIO PLC                                                                      

Heidi Hirvonen                                                                  
Communications Manager                                                          
tel. +358 50 5673060                                                            

Further information:                                                            
Vincent Poujardieu, Vice President, Ingredients Division, tel. +32 4974 06767   
Ingmar Wester, R&D Director, Ingredients Division, tel. +358 50 60132           Malin Keto-Tokoi, Regulatory Manager, Ingredients Division, tel. +358 400 25    
9935