'Potato Day' kicks off 'Many faces of potato' campaign

Food and Farming Minister Jim Paice today welcomed the first Potato Day (Thursday 14 October), which marks the start of ‘many faces of potatoes’, a new campaign by Potato Council and its European partners to stop the decline in potato consumption.

'Many face of potatoes' is a programme for the generic promotion of fresh potatoes across Great Britain, France and Belgium. The objectives will tackle misconceptions that younger consumers have about potatoes and show that they are an attractive alternative to rice and pasta;being healthy, convenient and above all, incredibly versatile.

Speaking at Frogmary Green Farm in Somerset, Jim Paice said: “The potato is a good value option – tasty, versatile and healthy.”

Caroline Evans, head of marketing and corporate affairs at Potato Council added: “The younger generation are eating fewer potatoes and research tells us that they lack understanding about their benefits and would like more recipe inspiration. There has been a significant drop in the number of fresh potatoes eaten in British homes and this new campaign will help to tackle this. The potato industry will benefit from an additional €0.81m investment in promotion over three years.