Full coverage: Food

The second part of our investigation into the spread of the pandemic among meat factory staff examines why some of them fell through the safety net established to keep workers away from each other when they posed a risk of infection.

As cases of Covid-19 in meat factories grow higher than last year, the first instalment of a two-part, year-long investigation unveils how the meat industry got carte blanche to remain open when other industries were forced to shut down.

The French food consumer brand “C’est qui le patron?” or “Who is the boss?” has experienced phenomenal growth and is rapidly expanding internationally. Lorcan Bannon asks its co-founder and CEO Nicolas Chabanne about the secrets to its success and his plans for Ireland.

When singer Mariah Carey launched her own cream liqueur, she chose the name Black Irish to reflect her ancestry. The brand is now live in the US but, although made in Ireland, it can't be sold in the EU yet as a group of Irish drinks veterans own the trademark for their own Black Irish drink.

As the world entered a destructive pandemic, the Irish dairy multinational had a bigger challenge on its hands: the sports and health nutrition brands at the core of its success story were running out of steam. A shock treatment delivered during lockdowns appears to have worked.

The urgent need to stop carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels is nothing new, but farmers and food processors were hoping the different gas released by livestock could be stabilised. The IPCC’s new report shows it must go down too.

Kerry Group has regained most of the ground lost to Covid-19. As it prepares to complete the sale of its consumer foods division, the core taste and nutrition business looks increasingly like a pharmaceutical multinational acquiring innovations to bolt onto a central industrial and commercial platform.

From wage subsidy schemes to public-private partnerships, recently filed accounts show that some companies have benefited handsomely from state handouts triggered by the pandemic – whether they needed them or not.

The Donegal fishing business Atlantic Dawn has survived the sudden death of its founder and increasing environmental scrutiny of large trawlers. Yet Karl McHugh, the second-generation leader of the group, warns that it is now under severe threat after Irish mackerel quotas were sacrificed in the trade deal between the EU and the UK.

The market's response to Total Produce's merger with Dole says it's going to be great for shareholders. Who are they, how will the deal work, and how will they benefit?