Potato News from Europe

The Restrain Company Ltd. have won the Gold Medal Award for Sustainable Production Techniques at the Potato Europe Fair 2012 in Villers Saint Christophe, France. Restrain offers an Ethylene Generator that produces low levels of ethylene.

Although PinguinLutosa has not declared who the buyer is of their Lutosa potato processing division, the Belgian Media have made their mind up: Lamb Weston will buy Lutosa.

Herbert Engineering is set to launch a optical sorting machine at Potato Europe. The Oculus is the next generation in high performance, compact, optical sorting for washed potatoes.

The days of a few big varieties dominating the potato market are over, with breeding programmes becoming more focused on delivering sustainable varieties for specific markets.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 213 points in August 2012, unchanged from the previous month. Although still high, the Index value is 25 points below the peak (238 points) reached in February 2011 and 18 points less than in August last year. Internat...

Potato prices have taken a dramatic turn with a 450pc increase in less than six months in Ireland.

GB’s seed potato community will be coming together to keep up-to-date on plant health and variety breeding at this year’s Seed Industry Event at Crieff Hydro near Perth, Scotland on November 20.

The Board of Directors of PinguinLutosa have reached a principle agreement on the proposed sale of the Lutosa division. A term sheet was signed in which the entreprise value has been fixed on 225 million euro and the transaction is subject to the fulf...

PinguinLutosa NV (PIN), the Belgian producer of frozen vegetables, rose the most in almost three years in Brussels trading after saying it received unsolicited non-binding offers for its potato division.

KMC launches a new cost-effective and non-allergenic alternative to traditional egg wash and dairy-based bakery glaze. The new KMC GlazeMaker 25 provides superior shine and excellent adhesion.

The increase in the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere can have a positive influence on the potato yield. This is according to Anton Haverkort of Plant Research International, part of Wageningen UR, on 22 August during the bi-annual Potato Demo Day at Westmaas.

Figures from the Potato Council Grower Panel Lifting Survey estimate that 16,000ha (13% of the total crop and 3,000ha greater than last week's estimate) was cleared to Friday 31 August, with the GB harvest running approximately three weeks behind last season.

Despite increased awareness about the risks of too much sodium in consumers’ diets and pledges from governments around the world to reduce salt levels in food, products with low/no/reduced sodium claims have seen some decline over the past years accord...

Potato growers are invited to the first North West Potato Day to be held at Aston Grange, Aston, Runcorn, Cheshire on September 18 to discuss with the experts some of the challenges they have faced this year.

Smartphone App to predict potato yield PepsiCo and Cambridge University have joined forces to introduce mobile technology to crop planning, with a new smartphone app that will help farmers predict future harvests.

A group of campaigners in the Irish Republic has been refused a legal challenge over the first trial of a genetically modified potato crop. In July, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave the go ahead for a gm blight-resistant potato crop to be tested in County Carlow.

Damage awareness is one of the key topics to be discussed at the North of England Potato Day to be held at Headley Hill Farm, Tadcaster, Yorkshire on September 4.

Moves will be made in the High Court today to launch a legal challenge to a decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow trials on a genetically modified (GM) potato to be carried out.