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Legal Proceedings, Guarantees, and Commitments
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Guarantees [Abstract]  
Legal Proceedings, Guarantees, and Commitments
Legal Proceedings, Guarantees, and Commitments

The Company is routinely involved in a number of actual or threatened legal actions, including those involving alleged personal injuries, employment law, product liability, intellectual property, environmental issues, alleged tax liability (see Note 13 for information on tax matters), and class actions. The Company also routinely receives inquiries from regulators and other government authorities relating to various aspects of our business, including with respect to our compliance with laws and regulations relating to the environment and, at any given time, the Company has matters at various stages of resolution with the applicable government authorities. The outcomes of these matters are not within our complete control and may not be known for prolonged periods of time. In some actions, claimants seek damages, as well as other relief, including injunctive relief, that could require significant expenditures or result in lost revenues. In accordance with applicable accounting standards, the Company records a liability in its consolidated financial statements for material loss contingencies when a loss is known or considered probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. If the reasonable estimate of a known or probable loss is a range, and no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other, the minimum amount of the range is accrued. If a material loss contingency is reasonably possible but not known or probable, and can be reasonably estimated, the estimated loss or range of loss is disclosed in the notes to the consolidated financial statements. When determining the estimated loss or range of loss, significant judgment is required to estimate the amount and timing of a loss to be recorded. Estimates of probable losses resulting from litigation and governmental proceedings involving the Company are inherently difficult to predict, particularly when the matters are in early procedural stages, with incomplete facts or legal discovery; involve unsubstantiated or indeterminate claims for damages; potentially involve penalties, fines, disgorgement, or punitive damages; or could result in a change in business practice.

On April 22, 2011, certain manufacturers and distributors of sugar cane and beet sugar products filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against the Company, other manufacturers and marketers of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and the Corn Refiners Association, alleging that the defendants falsely claimed that HFCS is “natural” and nutritionally equivalent to sugar. The defendants have filed counterclaims against the plaintiffs. The parties are currently engaged in pretrial proceedings.

The Company has entered into agreements, primarily debt guarantee agreements related to equity-method investees, which could obligate the Company to make future payments if the primary entity fails to perform its contractual obligations.  The Company has not recorded a liability for payment of these contingent obligations, as the Company believes the fair value of these contingent obligations is immaterial.  The Company has collateral for a portion of these contingent obligations.  These contingent obligations totaled $27 million at December 31, 2014.