If court approval is granted as expected in the US,  Menu Foods of Ontario, Canada will start to pay out US$24 million in settlements to pet owners whose animals died or were hurt in last year's petfood scandal involving melamine, according to an  article by The Mississauga News .

About 1,600 Canadians and 23,000 people in the US were included in more than 100 class-action lawsuits filed on both sides of the border after tainted petfood made by the company hit the market.

Menu Foods makes petfoods that are distributed under about 150 labels across Canada and the US.

The US$24 million settlement was outlined in court documents filed in New Jersey January 29. The pact was agreed to in principle last spring.