March 25/St. Louis/Marketwire -- Solae LLC has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for 2010. Out of a record number of nominations for the award, Solae secured a hard-earned spot on the list by going the extra mile, implementing upright business practices and initiatives that are instrumental to the company's success, benefit the community, and raise the bar for ethical standards within the food industry.

"Solae is honored that our pledge to build a corporation on a solid ethical foundation has been recognized with a place on the 2010 World's Most Ethical Companies list," said Cornel Fuerer, vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer -- Solae. "We believe the strength of a company starts with a deep commitment to ethics from the top and is sustained with an unwavering dedication to these same high standards from employees at every level. Ethical behavior is one of our four core values at Solae, and it is important in both our professional and personal lives."

This is the fourth year Ethisphere, a think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability, has published the WME rankings, which appear in Ethisphere Magazine's Q1 issue.

Through in-depth research and a multi-step analysis, Ethisphere reviewed thousands of nominations from companies in over 100 countries and 36 industries in order to determine the winners.

Solae is on the list with a number of other highly reputable companies this year, including others in the food industry such as Campbell Soup Company, PepsiCo, and General Mills.

"Solae's promotion of a sound ethical environment shines within its industry and shows a clear understanding that operating under the highest standards for business behavior goes beyond goodwill and "lip-service" and is intimately linked to performance and profitability," said Alex Brigham, executive director -- Ethisphere Institute. "This year's World's Most Ethical Companies award was more competitive than ever, because companies realize that making ethics a priority is critical amidst a tough economic environment."

Brigham added, "Compliance or ethics failures add up to more than fees, fines and penalties. The leadership distraction and turnover, forced alteration of a working profit model and heightened scrutiny that result show: good ethics means better business."

The methodology for the WME ranking includes reviewing codes of ethics, litigation and regulatory infraction histories; evaluating the investment in innovation and sustainable business practices; looking at activities designed to improve corporate citizenship; and studying nominations from senior executives, industry peers, suppliers and customers.

From the March 29, 2010, Prepared Foods E-dition