CFO Sells 50% of His Shares Prior to Major Pet Food Recall

CFO Mark Wiens, from Menu Foods, sold 14,000 shares for $89,900 on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27 just prior to the recall by Menu Foods over tainted wheat gluten. The shares are now worth about $54,000.

Just prior to the massive recall of tainted pet foods, CFO Mark Wiens, of Menu Foods, sold off 14,000 of his shares in the company. Menu Foods was one of the six companies that announced a recall of contaminated pet foods which led to kidney failures in pets. Wiens sold his shares over Feb. 26-27, the same time as the initial calls began reaching Menu Foods concerning pet deaths related to the foods. According to Menu Foods spokesman Sam Bornstein, ""He feels just awful that this link has been made ... He is a highly principled guy and for the amount of money that we are talking about, for him to imperil his career, it just doesn't make any sense ... He's a leader of high standards in that company, that sort of thing would just be completely out of character." A blackout period related to the company's fourth quarter results prevented Wiens from trading until Feb. 19, Bornstein said. Wiens sought permission in writing from the CEO to trade then, a standard practice, he said. The tainted pet foods have had a major impact on pet health; they reportedly have caused a 30% increase in kidney failures according to one major veterinary hospital chain.