Monterey Pasta Company announced that it has changed its name to Monterey Gourmet Foods Inc. The company's shareholders approved this change at its July 29, 2004, annual shareholder meeting. The company's stock will continue to trade under the ticker symbol "PSTA," and its flagship pasta and sauce lines will continue to be sold under the Monterey Pasta Company brand name. The new Monterey Gourmet Foods logos can be viewed on the company's websites, www.montereypasta.com or www.montereygourmetfoods.com.

"We've changed our company name to more accurately define our strategic direction," states Jim Williams, Monterey Gourmet Foods' president and chief executive officer. "The name change also announces to the investor community, our customers and consumers that we are now more than just a pasta company."

In 2004, the company has launched two new product lines outside its core pasta/sauce business, including Gourmet Refrigerated Entrees, such as Seafood Lasagna and Pasta Primavera, and Grilled Wrap Sandwiches, featuring a Garlic Chicken Wrap and a Chicken Ranchero Burrito. Over the past two years, the company also completed two acquisitions outside its pasta business: Emerald Valley Kitchen (September, 2002) that manufactures organic dips and salsas, and CIBO Naturals (January, 2004), a maker of sauces, dips and spreads.

Williams further states, "The gourmet food segment is growing rapidly, as time-starved consumers seek high quality quick-meal solutions, and Monterey Gourmet Foods, with our staff of senior chefs and flexible manufacturing facilities, is positioned to bring new innovative products to these consumers."