During recessions food sector is one of the sectors that look attractive to investors since food is a necessity and people will have to buy them. While they may cut down on unnecessary expensive or luxury items they will still buy basic items needed.

The profit margin in the food industry is very small.However its one of those industries that is not affected by the subprime crisis in that they have not suffered any huge losses like banks or other financial institutions. Not many European food companies are listed in the US exchanges. Just 3 stocks are listed in the NYSE and the remaining trade on the OTC markets.

The following is a list of all the food companies available as ADRs in the US:

Companies like Nestle, Unilever, Cadburys own many globally popular brands. Nestle has been one of the stealth stocks that was not followed by many US investors until recently since it trades on the OTC.