Tyson Foods 2012 Annual Report Download - page 6

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We work to ensure our products meet high standards of food safety and quality. In addition to our own internal Food Safety and
Quality Assurance oversight and review, our chicken, beef, pork and prepared foods products are subject to inspection prior to
distribution, primarily by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). We are also participants in the United States Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) program and are subject to the
Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures and the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002.
EMPLOYEES AND LABOR RELATIONS
As of September 29, 2012, we employed approximately 115,000 employees. Approximately 96,000 employees were employed in the
United States and 19,000 employees were in foreign countries, primarily China, Mexico and Brazil. Approximately 29,000 employees
in the United States were subject to collective bargaining agreements with various labor unions, with approximately 19% of those
employees included under agreements expiring in fiscal 2013. The remaining agreements expire over the next several years.
Approximately 8,000 employees in foreign countries were subject to collective bargaining agreements. We believe our overall
relations with our workforce are good.
MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION
Our principal marketing objective is to be the primary provider of chicken, beef, pork and prepared foods products for our customers
and consumers. As such, we utilize our national distribution system and customer support services to achieve the leading market
position for our products. On an ongoing basis, we identify distinct markets and business opportunities through continuous consumer
and market research. In addition to supporting strong regional brands across multiple protein lines, we build the Tyson brand and
Tyson owned brands primarily through well-defined product-specific advertising and public relations efforts focused toward key
consumer targets with specific needs. These efforts are designed to present key Tyson products as everyday solutions to relevant
consumer problems thereby becoming part of regular eating routines.
We have the ability to produce and ship fresh, frozen and refrigerated products worldwide. Domestically, our distribution system
extends to a broad network of food distributors and is supported by our owned or leased cold storage warehouses, public cold storage
facilities and our transportation system. Our distribution centers accumulate fresh and frozen products so we can fill and consolidate
less-than-truckload orders into full truckloads, thereby decreasing shipping costs while increasing customer service. In addition, we
provide our customers a wide selection of products that do not require large volume orders. Our distribution system enables us to
supply large or small quantities of products to meet customer requirements anywhere in the continental United States. Internationally,
we utilize both rail and truck refrigerated transportation to domestic ports, where consolidations take place to transport to foreign
destinations.
PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS
We have filed a number of patents and trademarks relating to our processes and products that either have been approved or are in the
process of application. Because we do a significant amount of brand name and product line advertising to promote our products, we
consider the protection of our trademarks to be important to our marketing efforts. We also have developed non-public proprietary
information regarding our production processes and other product-related matters. We utilize internal procedures and safeguards to
protect the confidentiality of such information and, where appropriate, seek patent and/or trademark protection for the technology we
utilize.
INDUSTRY PRACTICES
Our agreements with customers are generally short-term, primarily due to the nature of our products, industry practices and
fluctuations in supply, demand and price for such products. In certain instances where we are selling further processed products to
large customers, we may enter into written agreements whereby we will act as the exclusive or preferred supplier to the customer, with
pricing terms that are either fixed or variable.
AVAILABILITY OF SEC FILINGS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE DOCUMENTS ON INTERNET WEBSITE
We maintain an internet website for investors at http://ir.tyson.com. On this website, we make available, free of charge, annual reports
on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to any of those reports, as soon as
reasonably practicable after we electronically file such reports with, or furnish to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. Also
available on the website for investors are the Corporate Governance Principles, Audit Committee charter, Compensation Committee
charter, Governance Committee charter, Nominating Committee charter, Code of Conduct and Whistleblower Policy. Our corporate
governance documents are available in print, free of charge to any shareholder who requests them.