PotatoPro Newsletters on French Fries and Potato Specialties

Last week the European Commission approved cultivation and processing of the genetically modified starch potato Amflora. The request for authorisation was submitted by Amflora's developer BASF in August 1996, more than 13 years ago!

 

In North America, currently no genetically modified potatoes are commercially grown. But the GM potato has already a colorful history in the US and Canada

Earlier this month the United States Department of Agriculture's Economical Research Service (USDA-ERS) published a new tool that I wanted to share with you today: the Food Environment Atlas.

The Food Environment Atlas brings together a series of maps on a wide range of food and health related topics and presents this wealth of data in a very intuitive way. You can find information such as: food stores (access, proximity, types of stores), restaurants, food prices, food eaten at home, food assistance, physical activity, health information and a range of socio-economic factors.

Consumers have a strong aversion to difficult terms they do not understand. This is not a new trend and for many years food companies are working to "clean up their labels". But it seems this trend is gaining importance.