NutraCea Elects Edward L. McMillan Chairman of the Board of Directors

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., May 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- NutraCea (NTRZ.pk), a world leader in production and marketing of stabilized rice bran (SRB), rice bran oil (RBO) and their derivative products, announced that Edward L. McMillan has been elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors, succeeding W. John Short, effective April 28, 2011. Short will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer and a Director of NutraCea.

McMillan has served as a director of NutraCea since October 2005 and was a director of RiceX from July 2004 to October 2005.  From June 1969 to December 1987 he was with Ralston Purina, Inc. and Purina Mills, Inc. where he held various senior level management positions including marketing, strategic planning, business development, product research, and business segment management. From January 1988 to March 1996, McMillan was President and CEO of Purina Mills, Inc.  From August 1997 to April 1999 he was with Agri Business Group, Inc.  Following in 2000, McMillan founded McMillan LLC, a transaction consulting firm which provides strategic consulting services and facilitates mergers and/or acquisitions predominantly to food and agribusiness industry sectors. 

Short was elected Chairman of the Board in December 2009, following the Company's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November of the same year.  The Board saw the combined roles as the appropriate structure during NutraCea's reorganization period.

NutraCea is committed to best practices and it was agreed by the Board at the time of Short's appointment that as soon as practical following the Company's emergence from Chapter 11 the positions of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer would be separated and an independent director would be elected Chairman.  

"I am extremely pleased that Ed has agreed to serve as Chairman of our Board of Directors," said John Short, Chief Executive Officer.  "He is a proven leader, having served in various executive positions at Ralston Purina and as President and CEO at Purina Mills.  His over 30 years of experience and knowledge in the food and agribusiness industry sectors have provided great insight and guidance to me and our management team since I joined NutraCea in July 2009.  I look forward to working under Ed's Board leadership as we continue to focus on achieving growth and sustainable profitability for the benefit of all our stakeholders."

Edward L. McMillan, commented, "On behalf of the Board of Directors I want to thank John for his leadership and commitment which allowed NutraCea to successfully emerge from Chapter 11 and position the company for continued expansion.  I look forward to working with John, the management team and Board in strengthening NutraCea's development."

McMillan currently serves on the boards of directors of Balchem, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCPC), Durvet, Inc., Newco Enterprises, Inc., CHB LLC., and Pennfield Corporation.  He also serves as Chair of the University of Illinois Research Park, LLC and is a member of the Board of Trustees of University of Illinois.

About NutraCea

NutraCea is a world leader in production and marketing of stabilized rice bran (SRB), rice bran oil (RBO) and their derivative products. NutraCea holds many patents for stabilized rice bran (SRB) production technology and proprietary products derived from SRB. NutraCea's proprietary technology enables the creation of food and nutrition products to be unlocked from rice bran, normally an under utilized co-product of rice milling. NutraCea also produces consumer rice based health supplements which can be found at http://www.nutraceaonline.com. More information can be found in the Company's filings with the SEC and by visiting our website at http://www.NutraCea.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements. 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 reports.

SOURCE NutraCea