Mars settles with supplier for $8 million

Mars settles with supplier for $8 million MGP Ingredients Inc., the biggest U.S. supplier of wheat gluten, received $8 million after settling a patent-infringement lawsuit against Mars Inc. over ingredients in dog-chew treats, the company said in a regulatory filing last week.
   Mars, the McLean-based candymaker, and its S&M NuTec unit, were sued by MGP two years ago for allegedly breaching a 2005 supply agreement for a formula with secret ingredients made by MGP. Mars, which bought S&M in 2006, said it came up with a new formula for its Greenies dog chews. MGP said the formula wasn’t new, and said S&M used trade secrets and violated its patent for some of the ingredients, according to reporting by Bloomberg.