Spicy snack production resumes in latiao hub

Food manufacturer Malawangzi, known for its popular spicy gluten strips, or latiao, said it plans to fully restore production on Friday after an unprecedented flood hit Pingjiang county, Hunan province, on Monday.

The company stopped production on Monday as supplies of clean water, electricity and gas were cut, even though the factory was not flooded, said Li Manliang, a deputy general manager.

Latiao is a popular snack, especially among younger Chinese and children. Pingjiang is the hometown of latiao and the base of 116 latiao enterprises, with an annual production value of more than 20 billion yuan ($2.75 billion). Three people from the county invented the snack in 1998, and more than 90 percent of the founders of latiao companies in China come from Pingjiang.