EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Jan. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicken of the Sea International (COSI), a leading provider of healthy, delicious and responsibly-sourced seafood, today announced an agreement with 29 companies resolving their antitrust claims. Under the agreement terms, COSI will pay a cash settlement and work with the companies in the promotion of innovative Chicken of the Sea products.
"We are pleased to have reached an agreement with these companies, who are important partners to COSI. This demonstrates our commitment to putting this matter behind us and further strengthens our valued customer partnerships," Christianna Reed, COSI's vice president and general counsel, stated.
COSI was the first tuna producer to engage the U.S. Department of Justice as a whistleblower in an industry anti-trust case.
"The settlement is a significant achievement for COSI and our revamped management team," Reed added. "We are also hopeful it will encourage any remaining litigants to put posturing aside and work with us to find pragmatic solutions that reflect the industry's challenging market realities. It is also an unfortunate reality that litigants who continue to pursue aggressive, unrealistic negotiation tactics are putting an iconic American Seafood brand and American jobs at risk."
The Settlement Agreement with COSI includes the following companies: Affiliated Foods, Inc.; Affiliated Foods Midwest Cooperative, Inc.; Alex Lee, Inc.; Associated Food Stores, Inc.; Associated Grocers of New England, Inc; Bashas' Inc.; Big Y Foods, Inc.; Brookshire Brothers, Inc.; Brookshire Grocery Company; Certco, Inc.; Dollar Tree Distribution, Inc.; Greenbrier International, Inc.; Family Dollar Stores, Inc.; Family Dollar Services, LLC; Fareway Stores, Inc.; The Golub Corporation; Giant Eagle, Inc.; Kmart Corporation; K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc.; Marc Glassman, Inc.; McLane Company, Inc; Meadowbrook Meat Company, Inc.; Merchants Distributors, LLC; Schnuck Markets, Inc.; SpartanNash Company; URM Stores, Inc.; Western Family Foods, Inc.; Woodman's Food Market, Inc.; 99 Cents Only Stores LLC; and all of their Affiliates.
"We greatly value our retail partners and we are pleased this matter is resolved," said Darren Parsons, vice president, retail sales and business development. "The agreement ensures that, together with our partners, we can continue to provide customers the healthy, sustainably-sourced seafood products they expect from us."
About Chicken of the Sea International
Tri-Union Seafoods LLC dba Chicken of the Sea International (COSI) is a leading provider of healthy, delicious and responsibly-sourced seafood, offering not only a robust product line but the recipes and meal-planning insights needed to inspire seafood lovers to greater culinary creativity. The company provides tuna, salmon, clams, crab, oysters, shrimp, mackerel, kipper snacks and sardines in cans, cups and pouches as well as innovative new products consistent with seafood's growing status as a healthy "new" protein choice in America.
Headquartered in El Segundo, California, COSI uses responsible fishing practices to source its seafood products from around the world, and packages them at a state-of-the-art processing facility in Lyons, Georgia, as well as at third-party facilities. The company is led by a team of industry veterans with more than 300 years of collective experience in the consumer goods industry.
For information on Chicken of the Sea International, including recipes, serving suggestions and nutritional and meal-planning insights as well as information on the latest new Chicken of the Sea products, go to www.chickenofthesea.com.
