Menu Foods

Menu Foods Limited,[2] based in Streetsville in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada,[3] was the largest maker of wet cat and dog food in North America, with its products sold under 95 brand names,[4] which the company identifies as supermarkets, big box and pet product retailers and wholesalers.[2] It was bought out by Simmons Foods in August 2010.[5]

Menu Foods Limited
TypePublic
TSX: MEW
IndustryFarm Products
FateAcquired by Simmons Foods
Defunct2010
Headquarters
Mississauga, Ontario
,
Canada
Key people
Paul K. Henderson
Number of employees
924[1]
Websitewww.menufoods.com

In March 2007, after numerous animals fell ill and died during quality-control tests, the company recalled over 60 million containers of food. Subsequent to the recall, the Animal Health Laboratory at the University of Guelph in Ontario, identified contaminants in some of the recalled food: aminopterin, melamine (a plastic precursor that may also be used as a fertiliser), and cyanuric acid (which is commonly used to stabilise chlorine in swimming pools).[6] If consumed by themselves, isolated doses of melamine or cyanuric acid should not cause health issues in pets.[6] However, when these two chemicals are mixed together, an insoluble crystal is formed, that can rapidly obstruct the kidneys and cause kidney failure.[6] The incident has been labelled "one of the largest consumer-product recalls in North American history".[7]

Company structure

In 2002, Menu Foods Limited and Menu Foods Operating Limited Partnership were owned by Menu Foods Limited Partnership. In turn, the Menu Foods Income Fund had 72 per cent share in Menu Foods Limited Partnership.[8]

Overview

Menu Foods manufactures both low cost and high end pet food products. It manufactures pet food for 17 of the top 20 North American retailers, including PetSmart, Safeway, Wal-Mart, Pet Valu, Kroger, and Ahold USA. It is also a contract manufacturer of branded pet food products, manufacturing for five of the top six branded companies in North America, including Procter & Gamble,[9][10][11] for which it is the exclusive supplier of canned wet pet food sold under the Iams brand, P&G having sold its South Dakota plant to Menu Foods in 2003.[12] Menu Foods also produces Loblaws' President's Choice, A&P's Master Choice, Sobeys's Compliments, Safeway's Select, [13] Eukanuba, and Nutro.[11]

Menu's production facilities are located in Emporia, Kansas; Pennsauken, New Jersey; and Streetsville, Ontario. The plants produce wet pet food in aluminum and steel cans at a rate of 1,000 cans per minute, or 1,110 85-gram pouches per minute. Jointly, the plants are able to produce over one billion containers a year.[14]

Paul Henderson serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Menu Foods. Mark Wiens is Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer.[15]

Store-brand cat food retailers

The following is a partial list of retailers that sell or sold store-brand cat food manufactured by Menu Foods. (The source material was revised and as of 2 May 2007 no longer lists retailers, only brands. A similar list existed for dog food.)[16]

Recall
Main article: 2007 pet food recalls

The Associated Press reported on March 16, 2007, that Menu was recalling dog food sold under 53 brands, and cat food sold under 42 brands, after an unknown number of animals suffered kidney failure after eating it. Chief Executive and President Paul Henderson said the company had received an undisclosed number of complaints that pets were vomiting and suffering kidney failure.[11] At least 471 cases of poisoning have been reported and 104 animals have died.

References
  1. "Company Profile for Menu Foods Income Fund (CA;MEW.UN)". Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  2. "Profile". Menu Foods Income Fund. Archived from the original on 2009-12-01. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  3. "Contact Us." Menu Foods. Retrieved on May 20, 2009. "Menu Foods Income Fund 8 Falconer Drive Streetsville, ON Canada L5N 1B1"
  4. Elizabeth Weise and Julie Schmit (March 23, 2007). "Pet food maker to pay for vet bills". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
  5. marketwire.com
  6. U.S. study ties 27 pet illnesses and deaths in Canada to pet food recall
  7. "Pet deaths likely to rise: Menu Foods". Toronto Star. March 27, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  8. "Profile". Menu Foods Income Fund. Archived from the original on December 1, 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  9. "Customers", Menu Foods Income Fund.
  10. USA Today- P & G Largest Customer--21% of Menu 2006 Revenue
  11. Verrinder, Matthew. "Animal Owners Frantic on Pet Food Recall", Associated Press, March 17, 2007.
  12. "Menu Foods buys P&G's Iams pet food plant". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  13. "Private-Label Strategy" Archived 2007-03-20 at the Wayback Machine, Menu Foods Income Fund.
  14. "Facilities", Menu Foods Income Fund.
  15. "Menu Foods Income Fund Increases Fourth Quarter EBITDA by 82%" (PDF). Menu Foods. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  16. menufoods.com Archived April 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
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