Nestle is relinquishing 60% of its stake in German sausage maker Herta, the Swiss food giant announced on Thursday.

The company said it made the decision to sell its share to Spanish company Casa Tarradellas for an undisclosed sum as it wished to concentrate more on non-meat products.

Read more: Austrian thief steals 20 tons of chocolate

Nestle said it would still own Herta's vegetarian sausage and ham products as the items were "in line with its increased focus on plant-based offerings."

The world's largest food and beverage firm added that the deal "will ensure the continuity of production sites and the current structure of the business, including its employees."

Herta is valued at €690 million ($768 million) and sells cold cuts, meat products and dough throughout Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Britain and Ireland.

jsi/rc (AP, dpa)

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.