- As predicted yesterday on MNB, former US Foodservice CFO Michael J. Resnick and former executive vice president for marketing Mark P. Kaiser will be arraigned today on one count each of conspiracy, securities fraud and making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Two US Foodservice purchasing executives, Timothy J. Lee and William F. Carter, have pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme and are cooperating with authorities.
The charges allege that the executives overstated vendor rebates as a way of inflating the company’s stock performance. According to US Attorney David N. Kelley, when the fraud was revealed early last year, the stock price at Ahold – which owns US Foodservice – dropped precipitously, costing investors more than $6 billion.
- McDonald's is introducing all-white-meat Chicken Selects strips to its menu, saying that the new product will appeal to low-carb dieters. The strips will be both larger and more expensive than the all-white-meat Chicken McNuggets, which have been on the menu since last year.
- The J. M. Smucker Company announced that it intends to divest International Multifoods' U.S. foodservice and bakery products businesses because they “are not aligned with the company's foodservice strategy.”
No timetable was disclosed for the divestiture.
