May 23/New York/Associated Press -- Kraft Foods Inc. says shareholders approved the name “Mondelez” for its new global snack food business, which may put to rest the snickering that initially greeted the name.

The Northfield, Ill.-based company said the name was approved by more than 90% of shareholders who cast a vote.

The name -- pronounced “mon-dah-LEEZ” -- will take effect when the company officially splits into two publicly traded companies later this year. Mondelez International Inc. will be home to global brands including Oreo, Cadbury and Nabisco.

The North American grocery business will continue to carry the name Kraft and include Velveeta, Miracle Whip and Oscar Mayer.

Kraft also unveiled the logo for Mondelez, which is the name in a custom-made purple font with red accents on either side.

When the name was first unveiled in March, Kraft carefully explained that it was an amalgamation of the Latin word for “world” and an interpretation of the word “delicious.” The top candidates from a list of 1,700 entries were vetted with consumers in 28 different languages to ensure they did not have any negative connotations.

The colors in Kraft’s current logo have specific names, including “zesty” (greenish yellow), “indulgent” (pink), “sweet” (purple) and “delicious” (red). However, the company said the red and purple used in the Mondelez logo do not have any special names yet.

“Perhaps I see another employee naming contest in the making,” said Michael Mitchell, a Kraft spokesman.

 From the May 24, 2012, Prepared Foods’ Daily News