Microwave Science JV LLC Announces Agreement With Diamond Foods Inc. for Pop Secret(R) Codes and Packaging

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Capitalizing on the biggest advancement in microwave cooking technology in decades, Microwave Science JV LLC has partnered with Diamond Foods Inc. (Nasdaq: DMND) regarding its Pop Secret line of popcorn. The partnership involves Microwave Science's patented microwave oven technology, TrueCookPlus®, available in a variety of Pop Secret products. TrueCookPlus® (www.TrueCookPlus.com) is the microwave oven software that adjusts heating based on a short numeric code, which will soon be found on Pop Secret packages throughout the country.  The partnership was announced today by Andrew Burke, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Diamond Foods Inc., and Robert Schaffel, CEO of Microwave Science JV LLC.

As part of the deal with Diamond Foods Inc., TrueCookPlus® codes will now be found on 13 different varieties of Pop Secret popcorn packaging throughout the country, including 100 Calorie Snack Bags, Butter, Butter 94% Fat Free, Homestyle, Extra Butter, Kettle Corn, and Movie Theater Butter. When consumers punch in the TrueCookPlus® code into their TrueCookPlus®-enhanced microwave ovens, their popcorn will cook evenly, eliminating concerns about burning and reducing the number of unpopped kernels.

Pop Secret commands a 25 percent share in U.S. food stores, and continues to be a major innovator in the microwave popcorn category.  Microwave Science's partnership with Pop Secret provides yet another positive differentiating factor for Pop Secret customers' experience with the product.  

"We continue to look for innovation to enable a better consumer microwave popcorn experience," said Diamond Foods' Burke, "and TrueCookPlus delivers genuine differentiation. Even in its initial phase, consumers have responded to the TrueCookPlus logo and codes on our packaging, and we are pleased with the simple solution that it provides."  

"We're thrilled to be in business with a partner as well-known and respected as Diamond Foods," said Robert Schaffel, CEO of Microwave Science JV LLC.  "When most people think of microwaveable popcorn, they think of Pop Secret.  The fact that the TrueCookPlus logo and codes will now be on the Pop Secret packaging is a major endorsement of our technology and the TrueCookPlus brand."

About Microwave Science JV LLC

Microwave Science JV LLC (the 'Company') was founded in 2005.  Since then, CEO Robert Schaffel has spearheaded the initiation, negotiation and formalization of business alliances and technology licenses with international corporations with annual revenues in excess of $48 Billion.  These companies include LG Electronics, Best Buy, Pinnacle Foods Group, General Mills, Heinz North America, Sears/K-Mart and Kenmore.  

About TrueCookPlus®

TrueCookPlus®, a registered trademark of Microwave Science JV LLC, has taken standard microwave ovens to a new level and transformed them to be user friendly.  TrueCookPlus® technology adjusts heating based on a short numeric code.  The code accounts for the microwave oven's variables, such as altitude (Mt. Everest to Malibu), wattage (800 to 1,500 watts or greater), and temperature (if it's a hot or cold oven), and it adjusts power levels from 0% to 100% in real time to cook your food to perfection.  TrueCookPlus® has also been proven to cook food to USDA FSIS safe cooking temperatures, and eliminate any concerns of E. coli and salmonella.  TrueCookPlus® is endorsed by the National Frozen and Refrigerated Food Association – the only microwave cooking technology that the Association has ever endorsed.        

About Diamond Foods Inc.

Diamond is a leading branded food company specializing in producing, marketing and distributing culinary nuts and snack products under the Diamond®, Emerald® and Pop Secret® brands.

SOURCE Microwave Science JV LLC