The Egyptian government on Thursday confiscated the assets of the food industry tycoon and chairman of Juhayna Food Industries, Safwan Thabet, for his alleged ties to the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

In a press conference held on Thursday, Ezzat Khamis, the head of the state's committee tasked with appraising and freezing the funds of the banned organisation, said that the decision excludes the assets of Juhayana Food Industries itself, as it is a joint stock company.

However, all of Thabet's shares in Juhayna will be frozen as soon as the stock exchange is notified, bourse chariman Mohamed Omran told state-news agency MENA on Thursday.

Founded in 1983, Juhayna is considered to be Egypt's largest producer of juices and dairy products. It caters to markets across Africa and the Middle East, and also sells to European and United States markets on a smaller scale.

Khamis also announced that the committee has confiscated the assets of 1345 people for their affiliation to the Muslim Brotherhood since September 2013.

He also added that 103 schools have been confiscated and are currently under the administration of the education ministry. 

The committee also confiscated the assets of 1117 NGOs and 50 hospitals affiliated with the Brotherhood across the country.

The Muslim Brotherhood was designated as a terrorist organisation in December 2013.