Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Aug. 30, 2015

Basis of Accounting, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of Landec have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for interim financial information and with the instructions for Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) have been made which are necessary to present fairly the financial position at August 30, 2015 and the results of operations and cash flows for all periods presented. Although Landec believes that the disclosures in these financial statements are adequate to make the information presented not misleading, certain information normally included in financial statements and related footnotes prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States have been condensed or omitted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The accompanying financial data should be reviewed in conjunction with the audited financial statements and accompanying notes included in Landec's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2015.

The results of operations for the three months ended August 30, 2015 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for an entire fiscal year because there is some seasonality in Apio’s food business, particularly, Apio’s export business and the order patterns of Lifecore’s customers which may lead to significant fluctuations in Landec’s quarterly results of operations. In addition, the first quarter of fiscal year 2015 was a 14-week quarter which occurs once every six years compared to the standard 13-week quarter in the first quarter of fiscal year 2016.

Consolidation, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Basis of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements are presented on the accrual basis of accounting in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and include the accounts

of Landec Corporation and its subsidiaries, Apio and Lifecore. All material inter-company transactions and balances have been eliminated.

Arrangements that are not controlled through voting or similar rights are reviewed under the guidance for variable interest entities (“VIEs”). A company is required to consolidate the assets, liabilities and operations of a VIE if it is determined to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE.

An entity is a VIE and subject to consolidation, if by design: a) the total equity investment at risk is not sufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support provided by any parties, including equity holders or b) as a group the holders of the equity investment at risk lack any one of the following three characteristics: (i) the power, through voting rights or similar rights to direct the activities of an entity that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance, (ii) the obligation to absorb the expected losses of the entity, or (iii) the right to receive the expected residual returns of the entity. The Company reviewed the consolidation guidance and concluded that its partnership interest in Apio Cooling and its equity investment in a non-public company are not VIEs.

Use of Estimates, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make certain estimates and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. The accounting estimates that require management’s most significant and subjective judgments include revenue recognition; sales returns and allowances; self insurance liabilities; recognition and measurement of current and deferred income tax assets and liabilities; the assessment of recoverability of long-lived assets; the valuation of intangible assets and inventory; the valuation of investments; and the valuation and recognition of stock-based compensation.

These estimates involve the consideration of complex factors and require management to make judgments. The analysis of historical and future trends can require extended periods of time to resolve and is subject to change from period to period. Actual results may differ from management’s estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company records all highly liquid securities with three months or less from date of purchase to maturity as cash equivalents. Cash equivalents consist mainly of certificate of deposits (CDs), money market funds and U.S. Treasuries. The market value of cash equivalents approximates their historical cost given their short-term nature.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Financial Instruments

The Company’s financial instruments are primarily composed of marketable securities, commercial-term trade payables, grower advances, notes receivable and debt instruments. For short-term instruments, the historical carrying amount approximates the fair value of the instrument. The fair value of long-term debt and lines of credit approximates their carrying value. Fair values for long-term financial instruments not readily marketable are estimated based upon discounted future cash flows at prevailing market interest rates. Based on these assumptions, management believes the fair values of the Company’s financial instruments are not materially different from their recorded amounts as of August 30, 2015 and May 31, 2015.

Investment In Non Public Companies [Policy Text Block]

Investment in Non-Public Company

On February 15, 2011, Apio purchased 150,000 senior preferred shares for $15 million and 201 common shares for $201 that were issued by Windset Holdings 2010 Ltd., a Canadian corporation (“Windset”). On July 15, 2014, Apio increased its investment in Windset by purchasing an additional 68 shares of common stock and 51,211 shares of junior preferred stock of Windset for $11.0 million. On October 29, 2014, Apio purchased an additional 70,000 senior preferred shares of Windset for $7.0 million. These investments are reported as an investment in non-public company, fair value, in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets as of August 30, 2015 and May 31, 2015. The Company has elected to account for its investment in Windset under the fair value option (see Note 2).

Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Intangible Assets

The Company’s intangible assets are comprised of customer relationships with a finite estimated useful life of twelve to thirteen years and trademarks, tradenames and goodwill with indefinite lives.

Finite-lived intangible assets are reviewed for possible impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances occur that indicate that the carrying amount of an asset (or asset group) may not be recoverable. Indefinite lived intangible assets are reviewed for impairment at least annually. For goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets, the Company performs a qualitative impairment analysis in accordance with ASC 350-30-35.

Self Insurance Reserve [Policy Text Block]

Partial Self-Insurance on Employee Health Plan

The Company provides health insurance benefits to eligible employees under a self-insured plan whereby the Company pays actual medical claims subject to certain stop loss limits. The Company records self-insurance liabilities based on actual claims filed and an estimate of those claims incurred but not reported. Any projection of losses concerning the Company's liability is subject to a high degree of variability. Among the causes of this variability are unpredictable external factors such as inflation rates, changes in severity, benefit level changes, medical costs, and claims settlement patterns. This self-insurance liability is included in accrued liabilities and represents management's best estimate of the amounts that have been incurred but have not been paid as of August 30, 2015 and May 31, 2015, respectively. It is reasonably possible that the expense the Company ultimately incurs could differ from amounts accrued, and adjustments to future reserves may be necessary.

Long-Term Incentive Plan

On July 25, 2013, the Landec Long-Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”) was established which allows certain executives to earn a performance-based bonus that is based upon a cumulative operating income target for fiscal years 2014, 2015, and 2016. The LTIP was designed to align the interests of management with the long-term financial success of the Company. If the three-year cumulative operating income target had been met, approximately $2.0 million in bonuses would have been paid. Through fiscal year 2014, the Company was recording the estimated plan bonus on a straight-line basis over the 36-month LTIP period. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2015, the Company determined it was unlikely the three-year cumulative operating income target would be attained and therefore all LTIP bonus accruals were reversed at that time. The reversal resulted in a $677,000 reduction in selling, general, and administrative expenses during the three months ended August 31, 2014 in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income.

Fair Value Measurement, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Fair Value Measurements

The Company uses fair value measurement accounting for financial assets and liabilities and for financial instruments and certain other items measured at fair value. The Company has elected the fair value option for its investment in a non-public company (see Note 2). The Company has not elected the fair value option for any of its other eligible financial assets or liabilities.

The accounting guidance established a three-tier hierarchy for fair value measurements, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:

Level 1 – observable inputs such as quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets.

Level 2 – inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are observable either directly or indirectly through corroboration with observable market data.

Level 3 – unobservable inputs in which there is little or no market data, which would require the Company to develop its own assumptions.

The Company has elected the fair value option of accounting for its investment in Windset. The calculation of fair value utilizes significant unobservable inputs, including projected cash flows, growth rates and discount rates. As a result, the Company’s investment in Windset is considered to be a Level 3 measurement investment. The change in the fair value of the Company’s investment in Windset for the three months ended August 30, 2015 was due to the Company’s 26.9% minority interest in the change in the fair market value of Windset during the period. In determining the fair value of the investment in Windset, the Company utilizes the following significant unobservable inputs in the discounted cash flow models:

	At August 30, 2015				At May 31, 2015
Revenue growth rates			4%				4%
Expense growth rates			4%				4%
Income tax rates			15%				15%
Discount rates		15%	to	21%		15%	to	21%

The revenue growth, expense growth and income tax rate assumptions, consider the Company's best estimate of the trends in those items over the discount period. The discount rate assumption takes into account the risk-free rate of return, the market equity risk premium and the company’s specific risk premium and then applies an additional discount for lack of liquidity of the underlying securities. The discounted cash flow valuation model used by the Company has the following sensitivity to changes in inputs and assumptions (in thousands):

Impact on value of Windset investment as of August 30, 2015
10% increase in revenue growth rates	$	2,100
10% increase in expense growth rates	$	(1,600	)
10% increase in income tax rates	$	—
10% increase in discount rates	$	(1,000	)

Imprecision in estimating unobservable market inputs can affect the amount of gain or loss recorded for a particular position. The use of different methodologies or assumptions to determine the fair value of certain financial instruments could result in a different estimate of fair value at the reporting date.

The fair value of the Company’s Windset investment as of August 30, 2015 and May 31, 2015 was $62.3 million and $61.5 million, respectively.

Revenue Recognition, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Revenue Recognition

Revenue from product sales is recognized when there is persuasive evidence that an arrangement exists, title has transferred, the price is fixed and determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured. Allowances are established for estimated uncollectible amounts, product returns, and discounts based on specific identification and historical losses.

Apio’s revenues generally consist of revenues generated from the sale of specialty packaged fresh-cut and whole processed vegetable products that are generally washed and packaged in the Company’s proprietary packaging and sold under Apio’s Eat Smart and GreenLine brands and various private labels. Revenue is generally recognized upon shipment of these products to customers. The Company takes title to all produce it trades and/or packages, and therefore, records revenues and cost of sales at gross amounts in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income.

In addition, Apio revenues include the revenues generated from Apio Cooling, LP, a vegetable cooling operation in which Apio is the general partner with a 60% ownership position and from the sale of BreatheWay packaging to license partners. Revenue is recognized on the vegetable cooling operations as cooling and storage services are provided to the Company’s customers. Sales of BreatheWay packaging are recognized when shipped to the customer.

Apio’s export revenues consist of revenues generated from the purchase and sale of primarily whole commodity fruit and vegetable products to Asia by Cal-Ex. As most Cal-Ex customers are in countries outside of the U.S., title transfers and revenue is generally recognized upon arrival of the shipment in the foreign port. Apio records revenue equal to the sale price to third parties because it takes title to the product while in transit.

Lifecore generates revenue through the sale of products containing HA and non-HA materials. Lifecore primarily sells products to customers in three medical areas: (1) Ophthalmic, which represented approximately 60% of Lifecore’s revenues in fiscal year 2015, (2) Orthopedic, which represented approximately 20% of Lifecore’s revenues in fiscal year 2015 and (3) Veterinary/Other. The vast majority of revenues from Lifecore are recognized upon shipment.

Lifecore’s business development revenues, a portion of which are included in all three medical areas, are related to contract research and development (R&D) services and multi-element arrangement services with customers where the Company provides products and/or services in a bundled arrangement.

Contract R&D revenue is recorded as earned, based on the performance requirements of the contract. Non-refundable contract fees for which no further performance obligations exist, and there is no continuing involvement by the Company, are recognized on the earlier of when the payment is received or collection is assured.

For sales arrangements that contain multiple elements, the Company splits the arrangement into separate units of accounting if the individually delivered elements have value to the customer on a standalone basis. The Company also evaluates whether multiple transactions with the same customer or related party should be considered part of a multiple element arrangement, whereby the Company assesses, among other factors, whether the contracts or agreements are negotiated or executed within a short time frame of each other or if there are indicators that the contracts are negotiated in contemplation of each other. The Company then allocates revenue to each element based on a selling price hierarchy. The relative selling price for a deliverable is based on its vendor-specific objective evidence (VSOE), if available, third-party evidence (TPE), if VSOE is not available, or estimated selling price, if neither VSOE nor TPE is available. The Company then recognizes revenue on each deliverable in accordance with its policies for product and service revenue recognition. The Company is not typically able to determine VSOE or TPE, and therefore, uses the estimated selling price to allocate revenue between the elements of an arrangement.

The Company limits the amount of revenue recognition for delivered elements to the amount that is not contingent on the future delivery of products or services or future performance obligations or subject to customer-specific cancellation rights. The Company evaluates each deliverable in an arrangement to determine whether it represents a separate unit of accounting. A deliverable constitutes a separate unit of accounting when it has stand-alone value, and for an arrangement that includes a general right of return relative to the delivered products or services, delivery or performance of the undelivered product or service is considered probable and is substantially controlled by the Company. The Company considers a deliverable to have stand-alone value if the product or service is sold separately by the Company or another vendor or could be resold by the customer. Further, the revenue arrangements generally do not include a general right of return relative to delivered products. Where the aforementioned criteria for a separate unit of accounting are not met, the deliverable is combined with the undelivered element(s) and treated as a single unit of accounting for the purposes of allocation of the arrangement consideration and revenue recognition. The Company allocates the total arrangement consideration to each separable element of an arrangement based upon the relative selling price of each element. Allocation of the consideration is determined at arrangement inception on the basis of each unit’s relative selling price. In instances where the Company has not established fair value for any undelivered element, revenue for all elements is deferred until delivery of the final element is completed and all recognition criteria are met.

Licensing revenue is recognized in accordance with prevailing accounting guidance. Initial license fees are deferred and amortized to revenue over the period of the agreement when a contract exists, the fee is fixed and determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured. Noncancellable, nonrefundable license fees are recognized over the period of the agreement, including those governing research and development activities and any related supply agreement entered into concurrently with the license when the risk associated with commercialization of a product is non-substantive at the outset of the arrangement.

From time to time, the Company offers customers sales incentives, which include volume rebates and discounts. These amounts are estimated on a quarterly basis and recorded as a reduction of revenue.

A summary of revenues by type of revenue arrangement as described above is as follows (in thousands):

	Three months ended August 30 , 2 015		Three months ended August 31 , 201 4
Recorded upon shipment	$	110,416	$	106,240
Recorded upon acceptance in foreign port		22,344		26,587
Revenue from multiple element arrangements		1,589		575
Revenue from license fees, R&D contracts and royalties/profit sharing		1,006		212
TOTAL	$	135,355	$	133,614

Reclassification, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period financial statements to conform to the current period presentation.

New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]

New

Accounting Pronouncements

Debt Issuance Costs

In April 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) No. 2015-03, Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Cost ("ASU 2015-03"), which requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. The new guidance is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2017, with early adoption permitted. Management is currently evaluating the impact that adoption of ASU 2015-03 will have on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements and disclosures.

Revenue Recognition

In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) ("ASU 2014-09"), which outlines a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers and supersedes most current revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. The standard requires entities to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The new guidance also includes a cohesive set of disclosure requirements intended to provide users of financial statements with comprehensive information about the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from a company’s contracts with customers. ASU 2014-09 will be effective beginning the first quarter of the Company's fiscal year 2019 with early application permitted in the first quarter of the Company’s fiscal year 2018. The standard allows for either “full retrospective” adoption, meaning the standard is applied to all of the periods presented, or “modified retrospective” adoption, meaning the standard is applied only to the most current period presented in the financial statements. Management is currently evaluating the effect ASU 2014-09 will have on the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements and disclosures.