Mount Franklin Foods, LLC, a manufacturer of high-quality confections, nut products, mints and culinary plant-based proteins, announces it has acquired, through its affiliate, the assets and book of business from ARRO Food Processing Division, based in Hodgkins, Ill., and ARRO Ingredients Division, headquartered in Chicago.

For the first time, Mars Chocolate North America let consumers select the name of a new SNICKERS product through an exclusive vote on the brand’s Facebook page.

The acquisition includes a leased facility in Seattle and will add approximately 150 employees. The transaction, which is expected to close by the middle of September, is not anticipated to have a material impact on Smucker’s fiscal 2015 financial results.

Lofthouse Cookies, a brand of ConAgra Foods, Inc., announced that the brand’s main bakery in Ogden, Utah, completed a transition to becoming a nut-free facility on July 1.

Consumption of nuts was inversely associated with total mortality in both men and women.

In a large new study, observational researchers at Harvard University looked at how eating nuts may help reduce the risk of mortality, finding that those who ate nuts daily, such as pistachios, saw health benefits nearly double.

This is the first study to measure the association between pancreatic cancer risk and nut consumption.

This year’s Natural Products Expo West registered record numbers of both attendees and exhibitors.

Almonds and chocolate, valued separately for their taste and texture, are treasured even more when combined.

The varieties include Dark Chocolate Chili Almond and Maple Glazed Pecan & Sea Salt.