Other commodities, whose fluctuating market prices may  affect our financial results, are flour, paper products and  frying oils. The company’s  Price Risk Management Policy dictates that we use fixed pricing with suppliers whenever  possible but allows the use of hedging with costless tunnels  or swaps if deemed prudent. During 2010 and 2011, we have  been able to deal with this risk to management’s satisfaction  using contracts with our suppliers. World commodity prices  for flour, corn and soy and canola oils, important ingredients  in the manufacture of many of the Company’s products,  decreased in 2011 but are again trending upward for 2012.  Currently, we are still working with fixed price contracts with our suppliers and have most of 2012’s commodity under contract.  inspection by the Company’s own quality inspectors. We have  strict specifications for suppliers of both raw material and  finished goods to ensure that procured goods are of the same  quality as products made in our own plants, as indicated in  our  Supplier Standards and Audit Manual. We employ several experts in this area, including food  scientists, quality technicians, raw material inspectors, and labelling and nutritional consultants. We also have a  supplier code of conduct and retain independent auditors to monitor compliance. The Company has a Quality Steering Council with all senior  quality personnel in the Company involved. Their mission is  to ensure that High Liner has the best policies, consistently  applied throughout the Company as well as implementing  audit processes and ensuring quality personnel are  adequately trained. Quality and food safety, including the  implementation and maintenance of state-of-the-art product  specification and traceability systems, were strategic goals  of the Company in 2010 and progress was made on these  initiatives in 2011. Senior management accountability:  Mario Marino President and Chief Operating Officer Canadian  Operations; Keith Decker, President and Chief Operating  Officer High Liner Foods (USA) Board oversight accountability:  Board of Directors Our brand equity and reputation are inextricably linked to  the quality and safety of our food products. We must be  vigilant in ensuring our products are safe and comply with  all applicable laws and regulations. Consumers are also  increasingly better informed about conscientious food choices.  At High Liner, food safety is our top priority. All of our  processing plants have the proper State or Provincial and  Federal licences to operate. The United States requires its  seafood processing plants to adopt a quality management  plan known as HACCP (Hazard Analysis of Critical Control  Points). Our plants in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Danvers  and Malden, Massachusetts; and Newport News, Virginia;  are regularly inspected and meet or exceed all HACCP  requirements. Senior management accountability:  Kelly Nelson, Executive Vice President, CFO & Secretary Board oversight accountability:  Audit Committee Our technology infrastructure is critical to the daily  requirements of our business. The integrity and availability  of information stored on that infrastructure must be assured.  The inability to process customer payments, manage our  supply chain, and operate manufacturing equipment due to  loss of technology could shut down operations and impact  our ability to deliver products to market. Numerous controls  have been implemented to manage technology risk, including  a comprehensive technology business recovery plan and  offsite backup technology centres. We also use a minimal  number of technology platforms. With our leading-edge  enterprise-wide computer software systems (principally  Oracle ®  and Lotus Notes ® ) and our investment in internet- enabling connectivity with suppliers and customers, we are  able to control our business processes. In Canada, all seafood-processing plants are required to  adopt a QMP (Quality Management Plan) covering the  regulatory and safety aspects of food processing. High Liner’s  QMP has been approved by the Canadian Food Inspection  Agency and has been in good standing since inception of this  requirement. Canada’s QMP is an accepted standard under  the U.S. HACCP system. Our Lunenburg and Burin facilities  fall under this regulation and both plants meet or exceed the  related regulations. Plants outside of North America must also pass HACCP audits  to be able to export products to the U.S. All of the Company’s  non-North American suppliers operate HACCP approved  plants. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) must  inspect food that is procured outside of Canada. The Food  and Drug Administration (FDA) inspects food that enters the  United States. In addition, all purchases are subject to quality  We have a detailed business recovery plan for all our  administrative systems, which includes backup services for  our computer operations. In 2011, we expect 1  to improve  these plans moving to a high-availability platform to ensure  our customers do not experience any changes in service  levels due to computer failures.  We purchased new Product Life Management software from  Oracle  in 2011 and are implementing the Global Specifications  Management module. This initiative is part of our renewal  of systems related to product safely, traceability and new  product development as High Liner continues to invest in this  area to keep our leadership position. 46 HIGH LINER FOODS INCORPORATED 8.7 TEChNOLOgy 8.6 FOOD SAFETy