Centennial Specialty Foods Corporation Sees Opportunity With Resolution of Southern California Grocery Strike DENVER, March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Centennial Specialty Foods Corporation (Nasdaq: CHLE; Boston: CSJ) has been advised that the grocery strike that has been on-going for over four months in Southern California has been resolved, re-creating new openings for growth in sales of Centennial's products in this region. A settlement was agreed upon earlier this week and workers are expected to go back to work over the next couple weeks. The grocers involved, including Albertsons, Ralph's, and Vons, are expected to resume normal business operations in the immediate future. The grocery strike affected many food companies in the country,including Centennial, as certain retail grocers decided to delay new products approvals, shipments, and new store sets in the stores involved in the strike. Although the strike delayed Centennial's plan to expand its products into Southern California and surrounding new regions, the company is now in the process of scheduling appointments with grocery retailers in Southern California to move forward in executing its business plan. Most grocery retailers are expected to set appointments for new product introductions over the next 30 to 45 days, after they have had a chance to regroup following the prolonged strike. Getting approved new products onto the grocery shelves normally takes another 30 to 60 days. Centennial believes that the groundworkit performed for its market rollout while the strike was in process will help move appointments and resulting new product approvals forward. Jeff Nieder, Chief Executive Officer of Centennial, expressed his optimism about the resolution of the work interruption, stating, "The conclusion of the Southern California grocery strike is expected to have a positive effect on the grocery industry in general, especially in California and surrounding states, as regional grocery managers can now focus on theirnormal operations." One of the challenges that the grocery retailers will face is re-attracting customers to their stores following the long strike. "We believe that the grocery stores will be looking for new products to bring a point of difference for their returning customers, opening doors for companies like Centennial to expand their product distribution," Mr. Nieder added. Centennial also believes that shipments of its premium Stokes Green Chile Sauces to 327 Vons stores in Southern Californiathat were approved before the strike started will take place sometime in the next month. Centennial Specialty Foods Corporation is a manufacturer and distributor of ethnic Southwestern food products. Its products are sold under the Stokes and Ellis labels, two well-known Southwestern brands that date back almost 100 years. Principal channels of distribution for Centennial's products are grocery retailers, superstores and club stores in Colorado and, to a lesser extent, several major metropolitan markets in adjoining states. More information about Centennial can be found on its website at http://www.centennialspecialtyfoods.com/. Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements: Certain matters discussed in this press release could contain forward- looking information that involves risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current trends or expected results. We identify forward looking statements through our use of words such as "expect," "believe," "project,""anticipate," "intends" and similar expressions. These risks that may affect our ability to achieve forward- looking statements are discussed in our final prospectus in the section entitled "Risk Factors" and other documents that are on file with theSecurities and Exchange Commission. Without limiting the foregoing, statements concerning the retail grocers' future approval of Centennial's products for distribution in any particular region or for specific stores, and the time period required to get Centennial's products on store shelves, are forward looking statements. There is no assurance that Centennial's products will be receiving retail grocers' approvals for distribution into new regions or stores or that, once approved, Centennial's products will be stocked on store shelves on a timely basis, either of which may impact Centennial's future operating results. Stokes and Ellis are registered trademarks of Centennial Specialty Foods Corporation. DATASOURCE: Centennial Specialty Foods Corporation CONTACT: Stephanie Hinkle of Preserve Communications, +1-720-488-5409, for Centennial Specialty Foods Corporation; or Jeffrey Nieder of Centennial Specialty Foods Corporation, +1-303-414-4613 Web site: http://www.centennialspecialtyfoods.com/

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