ZURICH, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kraft Foods announced today that it intends to invest euro 15 million (approximately $20 million) in constructing a new Biscuit Research & Development (R&D) Center in Saclay, France, a suburb of Paris.

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This new facility will serve as the company's European Center of Expertise for Biscuits, focusing on innovation and new product development for many of Europe's most beloved biscuit brands, including LU, Mikado, Oreo, Prince, Saiwa and TUC. The Center will also be responsible for advancing major biscuit technology platforms for the European market and beyond.

Scheduled to open during the first half of 2011, this new Center will be home to a team of researchers, product and packaging developers, and nutritionists dedicated to supporting the European biscuit business. These employees are currently located in leased space within the Groupe Danone R&D Center in Palaiseau, France, very close in proximity to the site of the new Center.

"France is an important strategic market for biscuits and for Kraft Foods globally. This investment makes good business sense, allowing us to continue to drive biscuit innovation and future growth," said Michael Clarke, Executive Vice President and President, Kraft Foods Europe. "Consumers in Europe and around the world have long enjoyed our exceptional biscuit brands, and this facility will further enable us to create delicious new products for years to come."

Once completed, the Center will join 11 other Kraft Foods R&D centers that support its businesses around the globe.

Kraft Foods (www.kraftfoodscompany.com) makes today delicious in 150 countries around the globe. Our 100,000 employees work tirelessly to make delicious foods consumers can feel good about. With global powerhouse brands like Oreo and LU biscuits, Philadelphia cream cheeses, Jacobs and Carte Noire coffees, Tang powdered beverages and Milka, Cote d'Or, Lacta and Toblerone chocolates, we deliver millions of smiles every day. Kraft Foods is the world's second largest food company with annual revenues of $42 billion. The company is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor's 500, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the Ethibel Sustainability Index.

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SOURCE Kraft Foods