A no-frills, no-nonsense daily account of breaking global potato news stories
The FMI Foundation in partnership with the American Seed Trade Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and the Farm Foundation, today released a consumer research study measuring market potential for gene-edited products. The nationwide survey examined U.S. consumers beliefs, awareness, and understanding of gene editing in food and agriculture, and their willingness to pay for gene-edited foods as it pertains to fresh[Read More…]
Inconsistency in the quality of standard 2.5kg retail packs of potatoes has been held responsible for a downward slide in main crop potato sales, reports Nancy Nicolson in The Courier. Speaking to the Scottish Society for Crop Research (SSCR) potato committee meeting, the technical director of Albert Bartlett Potatoes, Paddy Graham Jones suggested variability in the generic “white potato” product was responsible for the fall.
“Naked produce. No, it’s not a dodgy search term (though I wouldn’t even try Googling it, just in case); it’s the next new thing in supermarket shopping,” writes Niki Bezzant in her monthly blog, Potato Chat, for Potatoes New Zealand. Niki writes in the latest issue of the blog that Countdown supermarket chain is trialling a plastic-free produce section in[Read More…]
Potato supplies continue to be snug across North America, though how tight things are is still to be determined. “Supplies have been tight this season from the beginning,” says Ryan Wahlen of Pleasant Valley Potato in Aberdeen, ID. “I think [coronavirus] influencing the buyers a lot,” says Wahlen. “There are a few concerned who aren’t sure how heavy to carry an inventory of a perishable item. They’re worried about their work force being impacted.
Tom Karst writes in The Packer today that the 2020 annual meeting of Potatoes USA proceeded as planned even as news was breaking that the NCAA decided to exclude fans from its annual post-season basketball tournament the coronavirus, COVID-19. Some potato marketers said that sales of dehydrated potato flakes have increased while foodservice fresh and frozen sales have dropped. Most said they don’t expect long-term changes in how people buy potatoes.
A new report by The Snack, Nut and Crisp Manufacturers Association (SNACMA), estimates the total value of the UK’s savoury snack industry for the coming year at £3.2 billion, a significant increase on last year’s figure of £2.5 billion.. With more than 95 per cent of all potato crisps being made from home grown potatoes, it is claimed that the snack sector is a major supporter of farming jobs.
In 1998 Irene Mwangi started peeling potatoes and delivering them to a food outlet in Nairobi. She never imagined the humble beginning in her business would grow into a thriving enterprise it is today. Ms Mwangi started with one sack of potatoes, and her business now now processes potatoes supplied to a number of fast food chains, schools and various institutions.
Four of the largest potato producers in Australia want to convert 100 per cent of their potato waste into commercial benefit through their partnership with the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre (CRC). Over the next three years, The Mitolo Group, Zerella Fresh, Thomas Foods International Fresh Produce, The South Australian Potato Company, together with Industry Association; Potatoes South Australia[Read More…]
The world’s potato production growth stagnated in 2018 and couldn’t recover in 2019, according to a recent statement by the World Potato Congress (WPC). It is said that in total, 368,247,000 tons were produced in 2018, according to FAO. Even so, it was the third-highest production after 2017 and 2014. FAO estimated that 158 countries for which it has data[Read More…]
We must change how we handle our resources. A rapidly growing population, increased demand for produce and the threat of climate change bring with them risks to the food supply chain, and new approaches must be looked at to enable a sustainable future, according to TOMRA Food in Europe. Perhaps often overlooked within the food crisis though is the potato,[Read More…]
The challenge to creating a compelling package for potatoes is complex, because bags must protect product integrity while attracting a shopper’s attention, says Jeff Watkin, marketing director with Collinsville, Ill.-based packaging manufacturer Sev-Rend Inc. told The Packer magazine in a recent interview., One challenge Sev-Rend has met involves a bag that prevents greening and preserves the potatoes’ shelf life, he said.[Read More…]
IRI data for the calendar year 2019 (January through December 2019) showed success with dollars and volume sales for total potato sales at retail, Potatoes USA reports. Total dollar sales increased by 2.2% and volume increased by 0.4%. Potato chips, frozen potatoes, refrigerated potatoes, and dehydrated potatoes increased in sales volume. Refrigerated potatoes saw a 7.0% lift in dollar sales[Read More…]
The area of potatoes planted in Ireland in 2019 was the second lowest on record, after 2018, which was the lowest on record. There was also a further decrease in the plantings of traditional varieties such as Kerr’s Pink and Golden Wonders. Speaking at the recent National Potato conference in Dublin IFA president Tim Cullinan said farmers continue to be the[Read More…]
Of the thousands of products sold in Aldi stores across Australia, customers have dubbed the Maitre D’ Potato Gratin as the ‘must have’ buy of 2020 so far. Priced at a mere AUS$3.69, the miniature frozen potato bites are ideal for family dinners or lunch treats. Hundreds of happy customers praised the product on Facebook with many describing the item[Read More…]
PepsiCo New Zealand is committed to reducing the saturated fat, sodium and added sugars for Kiwi consumers, Potatoes NZ reports. Exciting news from the potato crisp industry recently, as PepsiCo NZ evolve healthier processing for NZ’s favourite snacks. The maker of Bluebird potato chips and other snacks, has changed the cooking oil for its major snack brands to canola oil.[Read More…]
There’s more to the potato business than reds, whites and russets, marketers in the US say. Specialty varieties and organics are important parts of the product mix, they note. “We need to continue to explore varietals,†said Mike Hart, director of sales and marketing for Fryeburg, Maine-based Green Thumb Farms. “When I look at the produce section as a whole and[Read More…]
As sales of baby Golds, Reds and Medley potatoes continue to climb, MountainKing is embarking on an aggressive program to provide its retail partners with turnkey, display-ready options aimed at driving sales of the smaller, pre-sized variety. “Small potatoes are under-promoted and under-merchandised,†says John Pope, MountainKing vice president of sales and marketing. “We’re working to change that narrative in[Read More…]
PepsiCo Inc. plans to buy online snacks company Hangzhou Haomusi Food Co. — known as Be & Cheery — for $705 million from Haoxiangni Health Food Co. as the maker of Doritos and Lay’s potato chips expands in China.
Rough weather during the U.S. potato harvest last fall continues to shake up the markets well into 2020, marketers say. “Overall, the market is elevated due to several weather-related issues across the country during fall harvest,†said Rachel Atkinson-Leach, category and brand manager for Russet Potato Exchange Inc., Bancroft, Wis. Recent prices seemed to support that contention, with year-on-year prices[Read More…]
Two highly innovative Italian potato products are making their debut on the market – Zero Hero, the certified zero residue potato, and Fornatine, selected potatoes to be baked in the oven but crispy just like fried ones, FreshPlaza reports. These products have already aroused the interest of both Italian and foreign operators in the sector, as well as producers, buyers[Read More…]
The amount of food wasted in developed countries has always been known to be ridiculous. And it’s not just the food itself which goes to waste. It’s also the resources such as water and labor. It is also estimated that food loss and waste accounts for nearly 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Now a new study by Monika van den[Read More…]
Potatoes have been becoming less popular for a while now. That is a shame, thinks Geoffrey Delbaere of the Belgian company, Warnez. “It is such a versatile, sustainable, healthy product. It should be considered a superfood. That is why it is important that we not let it fall by the wayside,” Geoffrey told FreshPlaza. “We must make potatoes sexier and[Read More…]
The agrarian state of Punjab has taken a major step towards value addition in its fresh produce, with the introduction of a blockchain traceability-based certification system. The system, which allows for instant tracing of the entire lifecycle of food products from origin through every point of contact to the consumer, has now been introduced for potato seed. With more growers[Read More…]
The final day of the Southern Rocky Mountain Ag Conference brought a focus on the potato. John Lundeen, Research Director for Potatoes USA, provided insight into just how large the market of the popular vegetable is. He began by noting that the potato is rated as America’s number one vegetable. Also, the nation’s most popular side dish is the French[Read More…]
CNIPT, Bord Bia, Europatat and VLAM have launched an inspiring campaign under the title “Potatoes, prepare to be surprised – Europe’s favourite since 1536â€. The joint initiative, which is co-financed by the European Commission under the EU Promotion policy, will run from January 2020 to December 2022 and will encourage the consumption of fresh potatoes among millennials in Flanders (Belgium),[Read More…]
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