Menu Foods loses two contracts

[Therese]

May 31, 2007 10:44 AM
Canadian Press

The head of Menu Foods Income Fund (TSX: MEW.UN) says the company has lost two major contracts with unnamed North American customers as the pet food industry responds to the fallout of a contaminated food scandal.

CEO Paul Henderson said Thursday that the pet food maker, which has been embroiled in a massive pet food recall over tainted wheat gluten from China, has lost two contracts representing about 4.5 per cent of sales last year.

The first customer has cancelled its orders for pouched food, he said. The other has opted to make its own canned food.

But Henderson said he wasn't able to tie the sales losses directly to the pet food recall.

"They don't necessarily share the rationale for their decision. It would be speculation on my part," Henderson said in a conference call.

The contract losses are on top of an announcement made March 16, the day of a major recall, that Menu was losing cuts-and-gravy product orders from its largest customer. The company represented about 11 per cent of sales.



Read the rest here.

[Davis]

Well, I can't say I'm disappointed.  Perhaps a tiny piece of justice will prevail, but it will never be enough.  I sure would like to know who those companies are.  Amazing that Menu is still in so much denial.   Thanks for posting this Therese.

[Jay Jay]

One guess would be Natura (makes Innova, EVO, Cal Nat, etc).

They announced they were looking to buy an existing plant or build one.
That was around the end of March or beginning of April.

Jay Jay (not jj)

[Sharon L.]

Another guess would be Nutro, which was recently purchased by Mars (Pedigree, Whiskas, KalKan, etc.). Mars manufactures its own food.

Sharon

[Sharon L.]

According to this news article (link found via http://petconnection.com/blog) the initial customer lost was Proctor and Gamble. P&G pulled the "cuts and gravy" line from Menu, but still kept it's solid food there.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070613.RMENU13/TPStory/Business

Sharon

[Geff]

One guess would be Natura (makes Innova, EVO, Cal Nat, etc).

They announced they were looking to buy an existing plant or build one.
That was around the end of March or beginning of April.

Jay Jay (not jj)

The reason I doubt it's Natura is I suspect they would be screaming this at us all over their website. Just went to their site & didn't see anything saying they've dropped Menu. I wish they would, though.

[empire]

 Mars manufactures their own food , but they were still in a  recall. Thats scary