by Todd Grady - Staff — Democrat & Chronicle - Metro

Birds Eye Foods Inc. has agreed to sell its Freshlike canned vegetable business to Allen Canning Co. of Siloam Springs, Ark.

Terms of the deal, which is expected to close May 1, were not disclosed.

Freshlike is a regional brand sold and canned in the Midwest, so the local work force is not affected.

Birds Eye, the country's largest processor of frozen vegetables, employs about 250 people at its headquarters in Penfield and also has plants in Brockport and Bergen, Genesee County.

"There's no impact whatsoever on Rochester," Bea Slizewski, spokeswoman for Birds Eye, said. "Once this is closed, we will continue to be selling our Freshlike Frozen."

Birds Eye sold its Veg-All canned vegetable business, the No. 1 brand of canned mixed vegetables, to Allen Canning last year. The 78-year-old family-owned company's brands include Popeye and Royal Prince.

"We know that the Freshlike canned vegetable business will be in good hands with Allen Canning," Dennis M. Mullen, chairman, president and chief executive of Birds Eye, said in a statement.

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