KFC Health Foundation backs projects

Education programs aim to support State Council's Healthy China 2030 plan

The KFC Health Foundation, sponsored by Yum China Holdings Inc, has announced five scientific research projects that it will support this year.

These were chosen from a total of 15 competitors, said Alice Wang, vice-president of public affairs of Yum China during the foundation's annual conference, which was recently held in Zhuhai, Guangdong province.

This is the ninth consecutive year that the KFC Health Foundation has supported scientific projects in nutrition and health.

The foundation has provided 15 million yuan ($2.17 million) since 2007 to support more than 50 scientific research and education programs aimed at improving the eating habits of Chinese people.

"Nutrition is fundamental to the well-being of Chinese people and we are pleased to support the government's Healthy China 2030 plan through a wide range of research and educational initiatives," said Micky Pant, CEO of Yum China.

"Over the past decade, Yum China's KFC Foundation has supported extensive research into the development of nutrition and we are committed to improving understanding of balanced diets throughout China," Pant said.

The Healthy China 2030 plan, recently released by the State Council, outlines the government's goal of increasing the average live expectancy of Chinese people to 79 years and achieving the same health outcomes as high-income countries by 2030.

Wang said Yum China has always been committed to improving the lives and nutrition of people across China during the 30 years Yum China has been in the mainland.

"We are focused on continuously improving the nutritional profile of our high quality products, while providing our customers with great tasting food and a variety of menu options," Wang told China Daily.

Yum China's restaurants across China have actively participated in public health and nutrition campaigns to expand the public's understanding of nutrition, she added.

Since 2008, KFC's One Yuan Donation program, which was founded in partnership with the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, has raised more than 130 million yuan and provided more than 29 million nutritious meals to 145,000 impoverished children across China.

In addition, KFC restaurants provided more than 30 million customers with tray mats to promote nutritional knowledge and share information about the content of balanced diets for Chinese people.

Over the past three decades, Yum China has donated more than 500 million yuan to help children from poor families go to school, reconstruct teaching buildings or improve the teaching facilities in China's rural schools and protect the environment.

Liu Xuanguo, deputy general secretary of the China Red Cross Foundation (CRCF), said: "Yum China has always placed food safety and the promotion of balanced diets as top priorities and central elements of its social commitment."

"The cooperation between the CRCF and Yum China is a fantastic example of the valuable intersection between philanthropy and business," Liu said.

The 9th Yum China KFC Health Foundation Conference, held on Nov 29, was attended by senior representatives from Yum China and the CRCF, as well as scientists, scholars and experts in nutrition and health services from across the country.

Yum China, the New York-listed company, now has more than 7,300 restaurants, including more than 5,000 KFC restaurants, in the mainland. Yum China's restaurants in China have more than 400,000 employees and attract more than 2 billion customers annually.

Yum China has a long-term ambition to triple its number of restaurants to more than 20,000 in the mainland in two to three decades.

In addition to KFC, Yum China has exclusive rights to Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands in China and ownership of the Little Sheep and East Dawning brands.

zhengcaixiong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 12/15/2016 page15)