Connors Ponders Sale of Meat Business after 2007 Castleberry’s Recall

TORONTO ¯ Connors Bros. Income Fund, whose subsidiaries market consumer food products under brands the Bumble Bee, Clover Leaf, Brunswick, Castleberry's and Sweet Sue, is considering selling its Castleberry’s meat business following a recall last year.

"The cost of the product recall, which is expected to be slightly higher than our initial estimate of $35 million, is largely behind us enabling the reinstatement of monthly distributions," said Chris Lischewski, president and chief executive officer. "The company did an excellent job of managing through the recall and we are excited to be able to focus all of our energies on running and growing our business."

The company announced it was undertaking a specific strategic review of its meats products and brands.

"We are constantly evaluating our portfolio of products and brands to ensure that they are consistent with our strategy and operating strengths," Lischewski said. "As a result of the impact of the product recall, we believe it is appropriate to evaluate options for the meats brands, which could include continuing to manufacture and market those brands as we are today, or divesting those brands and products which are non-strategic for us. These are strong brands with leading regional market shares in their segments. However, we need to evaluate whether they are right for the company as we increase our marketing effort and focus on our core seafood products and brands."

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