28 JULY 1990, Page 19

Better shred than red

SHREDDED Wheat is on the move. The cereal oven-scrapers have been sold en bloc by Ranks Hovis McDougall for £97 million, and it is said that the new owners, Nestle and General Mills, plan to take on Kellogg. I think their eyes are on the reopening markets of the East, where their product is already named in legend and song:

• On the Nevsky Prospekt a Russian stood, Chewing his beard for want of food.

He said, 'Though it's tough, this stuff, to eat, It's a damn sight better than Shredded Wheat.'