Produce Safety & Security International, Inc (fka PSFS)

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Chiquita Brands International Inc. (NYSE:CQB - News) said on Monday it suspended its cash dividend and may sell its shipping fleet as it warned that fallout from the recent spinach scare will hurt quarterly profit, sending its stock down nearly 12 percent.
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Chiquita, which is best known for its bananas, said a recent E.coli outbreak linked to fresh spinach cut sales and increased costs in its Fresh Express business. Chiquita plans to increase marketing spending to address food safety concerns.

The E.coli outbreak has sickened some 173 people and killed as many as three, prompting retailers and restaurants to stop selling fresh spinach.

Chiquita said those factors would "significantly" impact third-quarter results, but gave no details.

Chiquita, which is based in Cincinnati, bought Fresh Express last year to help reduce its dependence on bananas and tap into demand for convenient healthy food. Since then, the business has been a boon to the company's sales, and one analyst said he expected the company to bounce back once the spinach food safety scare blows over.

"Unfortunately for Chiquita they just bought this business about a year ago," said Neuberger Berman analyst Bill Leach. "It was going really well until last week."

Leach added that was not expecting the E.coli outbreak to have a material impact on any other large, publicly-traded food companies.