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Heinz Chief Executive Officer Adopts 10b5-1 Stock Trading Plan To Retain After-Tax Proceeds in Heinz Stock

Posted on: Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 09:00 CST

H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ), a global food manufacturer, today announced that its Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, William R. Johnson, has adopted a prearranged trading plan in order to exercise expiring options. The stock trading plan was adopted in accordance with the guidelines specified under Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934.

Rule 10b5-1 allows persons who may have material non-public information about a company to adopt written, pre-arranged stock trading plans when they are not in possession of material, non-public information. Such plans establish parameters for future stock transactions to automatically take place which may be modified or revoked by the person adopting the plan only in limited circumstances. In providing for these plans, the SEC recognized the need for corporate insiders to gradually diversify their holdings and spread stock trades out over extended periods of time to reduce market impact, without concerns whether such individuals might have had access to material, non-public information at the time of a particular transaction.

Mr. Johnson's plan provides for the exercise of 277,487 options of Heinz Common Stock due to expire in June 2006, and liquidation of shares at certain predetermined price levels to satisfy tax obligations related to the exercise, with the intention of retaining approximately 100 percent of the after-tax proceeds in Heinz Common Stock. The exercises and sales are subject to satisfaction of certain conditions and continue through June 9, 2006, at which date the trading plan terminates.

ABOUT HEINZ: H.J. Heinz Company, offering "Good Food, Every Day(TM)," is one of the world's leading marketers and producers of branded foods in ketchup, condiments, sauces, meals, soups, seafood, snacks, and infant foods. Heinz satisfies hungry consumers in every outlet, from supermarkets to restaurants to convenience stores and kiosks. Heinz is a global family of leading brands, including Heinz(R) Ketchup, sauces, soups, beans, pasta and infant foods (representing nearly one-third of total sales), HP(R), Lea & Perrins(R), Ore-Ida(R) french fries and roasted potatoes, and Smart Ones(R) meals, and Plasmon(R) baby food. Heinz has number-one or number-two brands in its three categories of Ketchup & Sauces, Meals & Snacks, and Infant Nutrition. Information on Heinz is available at www.heinz.com/news.

Source: Business Wire

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