Snacks investment, mega merger and recalls make headlines

The Sittingbourne-based healthy snacks manufacturer made the investment to air-dry fruit and vegetables on a large scale. The firm produces both snacks and ingredients for cereal and vegetable mixes.

30% of the world market​

The birth of a mega brewer moved a step closer after SAB Miller agreed to AB InBev’s latest bid, which valued the business at £44 a share. If the deal goes ahead it will create one of the world’s largest beer companies accounting for about 30% of the world market.

There was good news too for Mexican food fans, with lunch of the MexImport Group, a multi-million pound venture formed by three Mexican business leaders to source traditional food and drink from their homeland.

‘Exciting brands’​

One of its founders Yong Garcia said: “In the UK, we’ll be bringing lovers of our cuisine new gastronomic experiences through exciting brands, including a huge range of free-from products.”​

Mexican food also feature in our Me and My Factory profile​ of the Cool Chile Company this week and a behind the scenes look at its production process.

Meanwhile, it was a bad week for food and drink recalls, as new research revealed nearly 20% of food and drink businesses lacked any plans to cope with a recall.

Research by law firm Roythornes revealed that 18.5% had no recall plans – potentially exposing the business to millions of pounds worth of costs – while 60% of firms failed to mention recall in contractual arrangements with suppliers.

Nestlé also revealed that its Maggi noodle recall​ had dented its third-quarter financial results. The food manufacturing giant cut its 2015 growth forecast from up to 6% to 4.5%.

• This video was produced by Laurence Gibbons.