ConAgra Plans Peter Pan’s Return

By Joe Ruff

ConAgra Foods’ Peter Pan Peanut Butter will remain off store shelves at least through late May as the company prepares for the brand’s return after a salmonella-linked recall, Chief Executive Gary Rodkin says.

A plant in Sylvester, Ga., makes Peter Pan, and workers are thoroughly cleaning it after the mid-February recall. Company officials are preparing a marketing plan to reintroduce the product, Rodkin said.

The salmonella outbreak that was linked to Peter Pan and to Great Value-branded peanut butter, made at the Georgia plant for Wal- Mart, sickened more than 400 people in 44 states. The company faces several lawsuits from people who said they became ill after eating the peanut butter.

ConAgra intends to resolve fairly and expeditiously all claims related to the recall, Rodkin said.

ConAgra, one of the largest food companies in the country, is taking steps to reduce the possibility of any similar occurrence in any of its plants or products, Rodkin said.

“I am convinced that this event will make us a stronger and better company,” he said.

Peanut butter generates about $150 million in annual sales for ConAgra, but the company will have to forgo revenue from that segment at least through its fourth quarter.

Costs of the recall will be $50 million to $60 million, largely from product returns, inventory write-offs and projected legal costs, ConAgra officials said.

Most of the expense was recognized in the third quarter, and most of the remainder will be recognized in the fourth quarter, the company said.

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