SunOpta Issues Inaugural Corporate Social Responsibility Report

December 14, 2011

TORONTO, Dec. 14, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SunOpta Inc. ("SunOpta") (Nasdaq:STKL) (TSX:SOY), a leading global company focused on natural, organic and specialty foods, today announced the release of its inaugural Corporate Social Responsibility Report.

The report is intended to provide key economic, social, and environmental information to SunOpta's stakeholders including customers, employees, consumers, shareholders, business partners, community members, and governmental and non-governmental organizations.

The report covers the operations of SunOpta Inc, including wholly owned subsidiaries and joint- venture operations, excluding Opta Minerals Inc. The report is available on the Company's Website (www.sunopta.com) and complements other information about the Company.

"Our objective was to create a meaningful and useful document which provides a complete and balanced view of our Corporate Social Responsibility Performance in order to meet the expectations and interests of our stakeholders," commented Tony Tavares, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of SunOpta.

Steve Bromley, President and Chief Executive Officer, added, "We are deeply concerned with sustainability and our efforts to continually improve our practices are ongoing. While we have a lot of hard work ahead of us, we continue to make strides in building a sustainable organization committed to a triple bottom line of people, planet and profit."

About SunOpta Inc.

SunOpta Inc. is a leading global company focused on natural, organic and specialty foods products. The company specializes in the sourcing, processing and packaging of natural and organic food products, integrated from seed through packaged products, with a focus on strategically vertically integrated business models. The Company's core natural and organic food operations focus on value-added grains, fiber and fruit based product offerings, supported by a global infrastructure. The company has two non-core holdings, a 66.4% ownership position in Opta Minerals Inc., listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, a producer, distributor, and recycler of environmentally friendly industrial materials; and a minority ownership position in Mascoma Corporation, an innovative biofuels company.

The SunOpta Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3958

CONTACT: SunOpta Inc.

         Steve Bromley, President & CEO

         Tony Tavares, Vice President & COO

         Robert McKeracher, Vice President & CFO

         John Dietrich, Vice President, Corporate Development

         Susan Wiekenkamp, Information Officer

         Tel: 905-455-2528, ext 103

         susan.wiekenkamp@sunopta.com

         Website:  www.sunopta.com