Freedom Foods made investors wait until 5.08pm to explain that it couldn't yet tell them the fate of CEO Rory Macleod, whose immediate if-not-(yet)-permanent leave-taking came a day after CFO Campbell Nicholas resigned, also immediately. Though it did expect to have to write down an extra $35 million of inventory. Much of it out-of-date UHT milk, apparently.

The evolving situation, which executive chairman Perry Gunner said was just brought to the board's attention, certainly seems serious. But it would have to be truly catastrophic to be as damaging to Freedom Foods' market capitalisation as a decision Macleod presided over nearly five years ago.