US: Field trials of cold-storable potatoes complete

Calyxt, a Minnesota-based company focusing on developing healthy food products to benefit both consumers and farmers, announced that it has completed the first field trials in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan of its cold-storable potato. A significant amount of potatoes harvested each fall are cold-stored to ensure a continuous supply throughout the year. During cold storage, reducing sugars can accumulate in the potatoes. When cooked at temperatures above 250 degrees, the reducing sugars interact with free amino acids to form acrylamide. The National Toxicology Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer lists acrylamide as a “probable” human carcinogen. Calyxt scientists have inactivated the enzyme responsible for the degradation of sugars in the tuber, thus reducing both the sweetening of cold-stored potatoes and the creation of acrylamide during frying. More