Premier Foods dismisses food scare
Says Sudan 1 would not lead to losses.
03/03/05 The company caught up in the controversy surrounding food contaminated with potentially cancer-causing dye Sudan 1 has said it did not expect to lose money over the affair.
Premier Foods, which used chilli powder containing the dye to make Worcester sauce, said it did not believe it had "any material financial exposure" to potential claims against it.
The group, which used the Worcester sauce to make three other products and supplied it to some of its customers, said a number had said they intended to claim for the costs related to the recall of products containing the dye.
They could claim for alleged damage to their own products, the costs of recalling and destroying recovered products and claims for consequential loss, Premier said.
In its full year results statement, the firm said it had not been possible fully to quantify potential claims due to the limited number that had been made so far and uncertainty surrounding the situation.
Premier, which makes household name brands including Crosse & Blackwell Branston Pickle, Typhoo Tea and Ambrosia, said that it made pre-tax profits of £8.7 million in the year to December 31 against losses of £300,000 the year before.
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