Government Prince Edward Island sells FoodTrust

The owners of Prince Edward Island potato producer Mid Isle Farms and other local investors have bought the province's potato and blueberry marketing company FoodTrust.

The province announced in March that it would sell FoodTrust of P.E.I., a non-profit Crown corporation it set up in 2001. Its main product is a line of premium potatoes it sells throughout Ontario and Quebec in specially designed and commercially attractive merchandising units.

The new ownership group will pay an undisclosed sum for FoodTrust and operate it as FoodTrust 2008 Ltd., the province said in a release Tuesday.

FoodTrust's sales in the past year were worth over $3.8 million, the province said in March.

The provincial and federal governments have since 2001 invested about $5 million in the company to create a brand and develop both products and markets.