Humanitarian Aid Reaches Over 10,000 HIV Affected Orphans in Lilongwe, Malawi

Humanitarian Aid Reaches Over 10,000 HIV Affected Orphans in Lilongwe, Malawi

NutraCea Teams Up With Raising Malawi, Feed the Children and the Government of Malawi to Help Feed Thousands of Orphans in Desperate Need

EL DORADO HILLS, Calif., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NutraCea (BULLETIN BOARD: NTRZ) announced that this week they began distributing 80,000 pounds of their RiSolubles(R) product to thousands of orphans through Community Based Organizations in Malawi as part of an extraordinary collaborative effort with Feed the Children, Raising Malawi, an organization supported by Madonna, and The Malaria Solution Foundation. The NutraCea Feeding Program team headed by NutraCea Senior Executives, Margie Adelman and Kody Newland were in Malawi seeing first hand the drastic situation that the country is facing.

"Raising Malawi is a humanitarian aid project supported by Madonna and Michael Berg. Our mission is to provide direct physical assistance, long-term sustainability and psycho-social support to many of Malawi's two million orphans and vulnerable children. Thanks to Feed the Children, NutraCea and the Malawian Government, approximately five thousand children at the Consol Homes-Raising Malawi Orphan Care Center will receive improved nutrition. The health progress will be monitored and documented to track the benefits of this nutritional supplement for children- especially those infected with HIV," said Philippe van den Bossche, Executive Director of Raising Malawi.

"The situation in Malawi is desperate," said Larry Jones, president and co-founder of Feed the Children. "Malawi has a population of 12 million people, roughly the same as the state of Illinois. Something that people in America cannot believe is that of the entire population of Malawi, one million are orphaned children. This harsh statistic means one thing -- we all must do something to help. We thank NutraCea for being so committed to a socially conscious effort that will change the lives of thousands of children in Malawi and we're happy to collaborate with them."

The distribution efforts are being supported by the First Lady of Malawi, Ethel Mutharika and the Ethel Mutharika Foundation. Paradiso House, in Lilongwe was a recipient of the first shipment together with the Mtsiliza Community, Feed the Children orphanage and Consol Homes, Raising Malawi Orphan Care Center. According to Member of Parliament, Nancy Tembo who was one of the honored guests at the Paradiso House, "By bringing food directly to the children, NutraCea is making a real difference -- grassroots efforts of this nature are exactly what's needed here." The First Lady's daughter Duwa Mutharika Kafoteka was representing her mother and Founder of the Ethel Mutharika Foundation and she thanked NutraCea for their efforts to help feed orphaned children in Malawi. Mutharika said, "We look forward to expanding this feeding program in Malawi and we are grateful to all the groups, especially NutraCea, who have come together to bring this much needed humanitarian aid to our country."

The initial product distribution was made possible through funding raised by The Malaria Solution Foundation with a purchase of 40,000 pounds of NutraCea's RiSolubles. This donation was matched in kind with an additional 40,000 pounds from NutraCea for a total of 80,000 pounds, which will feed approximately 10,000 children for almost ten months.

"Our RiSolubles is a very beneficial food supplement for these malnourished children," said Margie Adelman, Senior Vice President of NutraCea. "It's made from the highly nutritious soluble fraction of our proprietary stabilized rice bran that can be easily mixed with water and consumed. Even in serious stages of malnutrition, the children benefit from the rich bounty of protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats and a wide range of vitamins and minerals because the product is easily digested."

"We're delighted to help raise the funding necessary for this project," said James Christiansen, President and CEO of The Malaria Solution Foundation. "The experience we have in Africa combined with help we receive from companies like NutraCea is a chance to help hundreds of thousands of malnourished children. Any amount of assistance we can provide is a step toward ending world hunger and we're currently working on expanding this program with NutraCea into other countries in Africa."

"Despite all the well meaning efforts underway to solve our world hunger issues, we still have a very long way to go. However, if it were possible to collect even a small portion of the 60 million metric tons of rice bran that are discarded annually, this extraordinary technology could convert enough stabilized rice bran into RiSolubles to make a meaningful impact on the close to one billion people that suffer from hunger and malnutrition throughout the world," said Kody Newland, Senior V.P. Sales, NutraCea.

"We are very grateful to Feed the Children, Raising Malawi and The Malaria Solution Foundation for collaborating on this project to benefit the orphans of Malawi, as well as The First Lady of Malawi, Ethel Mutharika and His Excellency Alan Eastman the US Ambassador to Malawi. It's only by a substantial collaborative effort that we were able to bring this to the children before the holidays," added Adelman. "Not only are we going to help feed children through the distribution of our RiSolubles nutritional beverage, but with the help of Raising Malawi, we intend to track the progress of the children's overall health as they continue to consume the RiSolubles during the next ten months. NutraCea's RiSolubles has been shown to help reverse malnutrition in feeding programs conducted in other countries. The program in Malawi is part of an on-going commitment by NutraCea to help eradicate world hunger," Adelman said.

For more information about the organizations listed above, please visit the following web sites:

www.feedthechildren.org
www.raisingmalawi.org
www.nutracea.com

To watch video on this story, go to: http://www.client.dssimon.com/fe/nca1b_vnr_fe.wmv

About NutraCea

NutraCea is a world leader in production and utilization of stabilized rice bran. They hold many patents for stabilized rice bran production technology and proprietary nutraceutical formulas ranging from arthritis, chronic bowel conditions, and effective diabetes control to cardiovascular disease treatment protocols. NutraCea's proprietary technology enables the creation of food and nutrition products to be unlocked from rice bran, normally a waste by-product of standard rice processing. Committed to helping the under fed, they're heavily involved in providing product and technology for developing countries through NutraCea's RiceAde feeding program. More information can be found in the Company's filings with the SEC and you can visit the NutraCea web site http://www.nutracea.com/ .

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ from those projected due to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to the possibility that some or all of the pending matters considered by the Company may not proceed as contemplated and the matters specified in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements are made based upon current expectations that are subject to risk and uncertainty. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements in this news release to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting such forward- looking information. Assumptions and other information that could cause results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking information can be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's most recent periodic report.

Company Contact:
Margie Adelman
Senior V.P. NutraCea
916-933-7000 Ext. 646
916-220-3500 cell
madelman@nutracea.com

Media Contact:
Tamara York, Director of Public Relations
ADinfinitum
212-693-2150, ext. 314
tamara@adinfinitumny.com

Investor Relations Contact:
Stephen D. Axelrod, CFA
Wolfe Axelrod Weinberger Associates, LLC
212-370-4500
steve@wolfeaxelrod.com

FCMN Contact: madelman@nutracea.com

Source: NutraCea

CONTACT: Margie Adelman, Senior V.P. of NutraCea, +1-916-933-7000, ext.
646, or cell, +1-916-220-3500, or madelman@nutracea.com; or media, Tamara
York, Director of Public Relations of ADinfinitum, +1-212-693-2150, ext. 314,
or tamara@adinfinitumny.com; or investors, Stephen D. Axelrod, CFA of Wolfe
Axelrod Weinberger Associates, LLC, +1-212-370-4500, or
steve@wolfeaxelrod.com

Web site: http://www.raisingmalawi.org/

Web site: http://www.feedthechildren.org/

Web site: http://www.nutracea.com/

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