More than just an annual report title, McCormick’s passion for flavor is a foundation of our business – a business that emphasizes the importance of eating well.

Certainly, taste plays a key role in eating well. In fact, in a recent U.S. survey, taste continues to rank first in what we choose to eat, ahead of quality, health and convenience. To that end, each year our culinary experts convene a council of leading chefs from around the world to define the latest trends and publish our eagerly anticipated “Flavor Forecast.”

Equally important to eating well, in our estimation, are the concepts of health/wellness and convenience. Thus our passion for flavor takes us toward products that resonate with consumers who demand more than great taste. For example, in the U.S. we recently relaunched our dry seasoning mixes with most of them reformulated to remove MSG, transfat and artificial flavors. This smart solution, coupled with the trend of more consumers eating at home, led to a 6% increase in units sold during the year. Likewise, we have introduced reduced-sodium versions of some of our most popular products to help consumers address health concerns such as salt content.

Similarly, we are helping consumers in France who bake at home by extending our popular Vahiné® dessert brand into new specialty cake mixes. Product innovation is also vital to our industrial customers. Led by new products developed for leading, multinational quick service restaurants, 13% of industrial sales in 2009 were from products launched in the past three years.

This passion for flavor, coupled with an acute sense of market needs and preferences, has created an enviable position in the marketplace for our brands. In our largest geographic markets, our share of the spice and seasoning category is significantly higher than that of our nearest competitor.

To reinforce the value of our branded products, we increased our coupon and promotion activity in France and other major markets. To reinforce the value of our branded products, we increased our coupon and promotion activity in France and other major markets.

We are supporting our brands with record levels of marketing, up 35% in the past three years. The effectiveness of our spending has also increased. For example, in 2009 our sales lift from both print and television in the U.S. and Europe exceeded the average of other consumer product companies. To reinforce the added value of our branded products with consumers, we increased our coupon and promotion activity, and in print ads featured ways to make an inexpensive meal with our products. Likewise, we extended our communication around the science validating health benefits of culinary spices and herbs to consumers in Europe and the Asia/Pacific region.

We are elevating our relationship within the food service industry from spice and extract expert to flavor partner. Having introduced Schwartz for Chefs® in the U.K., we recently launched a McCormick for Chefs™ campaign in the U.S., which encompasses recipe ideas, chef-friendly packaging and a back-of-house shelving system.

We relaunched our dry seasoning mixes to help consumers, who are increasingly preparing meals at home, eat well. We relaunched our dry seasoning mixes to help consumers, who are increasingly preparing meals at home, eat well.

Our passion for flavor continues to grow globally as we expand our geographic footprint in developing markets like China. In just the past two years, we doubled the number of major Chinese cities where consumers can purchase our products.

Our passion for flavor sets the direction for our acquisition strategy, which remains a key growth initiative. It has now been more than a year since we acquired Lawry’s, and the profit from this business has exceeded our expectations. It is our largest acquisition to date and we have been pleased with the results accomplished by our integration team. Going forward, we will continue to build our portfolio of great brands with acquisitions both in developed and emerging markets.

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Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this report are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including those related to: the expected results of operations of businesses acquired by us, the expected impact of the prices of raw materials on our results of operations and gross margins, the expected margin improvements, expected trends in net sales and earnings performance and other financial measures, annualized savings and other benefits from our restructuring activities, the expectations of pension funding, the holding period and market risks associated with financial instruments, the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations, the adequacy of internally generated funds and existing sources of liquidity, such as the availability of bank financing, our ability to issue additional debt or equity securities, and our expectations regarding purchasing shares of our Common Stock under the existing authorizations.

Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect expected results. Results may be materially affected by external factors such as: damage to our reputation or brand name, business interruptions due to natural disasters or similar unexpected events, actions of competitors, customer relationships and financial condition, the ability to achieve expected cost savings and margin improvements, the successful acquisition and integration of new businesses, fluctuations in the cost and availability of raw and packaging materials, and global economic conditions generally which would include the availability of financing, interest and inflation rates as well as foreign currency fluctuations and other risks described in our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2009.

Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.