Penwest Foods Announces Name Change

Penwest Foods Co. has changed its name to Penford Food Ingredients Co. as part of its parent company's realignment to focus effort on its food ingredient business. The spin-off plan includes Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co. selling its common stock through an initial public offering. Penford Corporation will then encompass Penford Food Ingredients Co. and Penford Products Co., which manufactures and markets specialty carbohydrate chemicals for papermaking.

Penford Food Ingredients Co. offers specialty potato and tapioca starches and dextrose and dextrin products for use in food manufacturing.

"Our food ingredients business has the value-added product and strategic marketing to become leaders in carbohydrate-based chemicals, providing customers with unique specialty starches and service that give them a competitive advantage," noted Greg Horn, president of Penford Food Ingredients Company. "This specialty focus and customer-driven approach are further reinforced by adopting the Penford name."

Penford's products include: PenCling, PenBind and PenPlus (specialty starches and dextrin); CanTab (tableting dextrose); and CryoDex (cryoprotectant for various food applications).