Mondelez 2012 Annual Report Download - page 9

Table of Contents
Research and Development
We pursue four objectives in research and development: product safety and quality; growth through new products; superior
consumer satisfaction; and reduced costs. At December 31, 2012, we had approximately 2,700 food scientists, chemists and
engineers working primarily in 12 key technology centers: East Hanover, New Jersey; Whippany, New Jersey; Banbury, United
Kingdom; Bournville, United Kingdom; Curitiba, Brazil; Eysins, Switzerland; Paris, France; Melbourne, Australia; Mexico City,
Mexico; Munich, Germany; Reading, United Kingdom; and Suzhou, China. Many of our technology centers are equipped with pilot
plants and state-of-the-art instruments. Our research and development expense was $462 million in 2012, $511 million in 2011 and
$404 million in 2010.
Regulation
Our food products and packaging materials are subject to local, national and multi-national regulations comprising labeling,
packaging, food content, pricing, marketing and advertising, privacy and related areas. In addition, various jurisdictions regulate our
operations by licensing our manufacturing plants, enforcing standards for selected food products, grading food products, inspecting
manufacturing plants and warehouses, regulating trade practices related to the sale of and imposing their own labeling
requirements on our food products. Many of the food commodities we use in our operations are subject to governmental agricultural
programs. These programs have substantial effects on prices and supplies and are subject to periodic governmental and
administrative review.
Throughout the countries in which we do business, regulators are continually adopting new laws and implementing new regulations
that affect our business and operations, such as the European Commission’s EU Health Claim Regulation, effective December 14,
2012, that limits the number of health claims that may be made by food companies about their products and a major reform of the
EU legal framework related to the protection of personal data, and in the U.S., the Food Safety Modernization Act, that provides
additional food safety authority to the FDA. We will continue to monitor developments of those new laws and regulations. At this
time, we do not expect the cost of complying with these new laws and implementing these new regulations will be material.
Environmental Regulation
Throughout the countries in which we do business, we are subject to local, national and multi-national environmental laws and
regulations relating to the protection of the environment. We have programs across our business units designed to meet applicable
environmental compliance requirements.
In the United States, the laws and regulations include the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”). CERCLA imposes
joint and severable liability on each potentially responsible party. As of December 31, 2012, our subsidiaries were involved in one
active proceeding in the U.S. under a state equivalent of CERCLA related to our current operations. As of December 31, 2011, our
subsidiaries were involved in 68 active actions. Except for the one active proceeding we retained, all the remaining active actions
relate to and were retained by the divested Kraft Foods Group business.
As of December 31, 2012, we accrued an immaterial amount for environmental remediation. Based on information currently
available, we believe that the ultimate resolution of existing environmental remediation actions and our compliance in general with
environmental laws and regulations will not have a material effect on our financial results.
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