BOSSES at a food producer have dismissed Brexit fears and vowed to continue investing in the North-East, after they officially opened the world’s biggest alternative meat production facility.

Quorn Foods has doubled the capacity Belasis site in Billingham, which means it can now produce 55 tons of Quorn paste a day.

The Northern Echo:

That equates to more than 1.3 million packs of Quorn products per week, equivalent to the meat produced by 1,600 cows.

Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, was due to open the factory yesterday morning but pulled out citing “personal reasons”.

The Northern Echo:

Speaking to The Northern Echo, Kevin Brennan, Quorn Foods chief executive, said the firm will continue to create jobs and invest in the North-East.

“We have never seen a reason to leave the North-East. Our business is growing 15 per cent a year and we believe there is a generational change, consumers are eating less meat than they ever have before because of health concerns and sustainability concerns, and because of that we are growing.

"We need more capacity, and this will be the first of more and more facilities we will be building in the North-East.

“This facility is creating 30 plus jobs, and 150 people have worked on the construction of the building, and they are now moving to other projects we are working on, and because we are growing, this will just continue.

The Northern Echo:

"We believe we will continue to employ more and more people in the region.

Speaking about the proposed EU withdrawal agreement, Mr Brennan said: “The whole process is difficult because it creates uncertainty, but one of the things we have actively done in the last few years is a lot of our growth has come outside the EU, so that reduces our exposure to the EU.

"We have doubled our business in Australia this year alone, we are the fastest growing meat alternative business in the USA, and of course for those countries nothing is changing, so the impact of hard Brexit, soft Brexit, no Brexit is actually a lot smaller for us, we could do without it, but it is not a major issue."

The Northern Echo:

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “Huge household-name businesses are thriving in this region.

"Quorn Foods’ products are sold around the world, making it an important part of our export economy.

“This new multi-million-pound facility, which will double Quorn Foods’ output, shows the firm’s confidence in our area as a great place to invest and do business.

"It brings with it good jobs, better working practices and potential for further investment - all central to our aim of driving forward a high-growth and wage economy.”