Potato News from the United States

At a special meeting Thursday, the Washington State Potato Conference and Trade Show board voted unanimously to relocate the 2009 event to the Tri-Cities Convention Center in Kennewick, instead of in Moses Lake, its base since its inception 47 years ag...

The crisis of surging food prices could mean “seven lost years” in the fight against worldwide poverty, World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick said. “While many are worrying about filling their gas tanks, many others around the world are struggling ...

Trans-fats, which are being phased out of food because they clog arteries, may raise the risk of getting breast cancer, European researchers reported on Friday.They found that women with the highest blood levels of trans-fats had about twice the risk ...

PepsiCo's Frito-Lay North America business unit announced today the launch of Pinch of Salt, a low-sodium version of some of its most popular brands – Lay's potato chips, Tostitos tortilla chips, Fritos corn chips and Ruffles potato chips. While Frito...

A shaky economy and higher food and labor costs are squeezing eateries. How can chains raise prices and hold on to their customers? Rather than just an infrequent treat, a restaurant meal has become a daily ritual for many Americans. Almost half the ...

Wada Farms Marketing Group LLC, Idaho Falls, and Farm Fresh Direct LLC, Monte Vista, Colo., have formed Category Partners LLC, a marketing company that will concentrate on category management, innovative products and packaging and promotions, according...

Kettle Foods is spicing up the summer with the arrival of its newest Kettle(TM) brand Potato Chip, Death Valley Chipotle(TM), just in time for barbeque season. The winner of the fourth annual People's Choice campaign, Death Valley Chipotle(TM), is set ...

On April 8, 2008, Shearer’s Foods, Inc. officially announced their plans to build the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) Gold Certified food manufacturing plant in the State of Ohio. Chief Executive Officer Bob Shearer and the Sh...

As the price of fossil fuels and commodities like grain climb, nutritionally questionable, high-profit ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup will, too. As a result, Cokes are likely to get smaller and cost more. Then, the argument goes, fewer peopl...

Farmers in the US are expected to plant significantly fewer corn crops than last year, pushing the price up to a record high of $6 a bushel, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) warned last week.The news indicates even more pressure on food manufact...

Potatoes, and ingredients derived from the crop, are set to experience growing demand as cereal prices continue to soar. A spokesman at starch producer Avebe said both cereal and potato-based starches have become more expensive. "The rising cereal...

At a time when many large restaurant chains are struggling, Burger King Holdings Inc. CEO John Chidsey has managed to sustain the once-foundering fast-food company's turnaround. The world's No. 2 hamburger chain by locations behind McDonald's Corp. is ...

The Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) today launched the iTuber Take II video contest on the popular website, YouTube, inviting spud lovers from across the country to work their magic in front of the camera with America's favorite vegetable: the Idaho Pot...

Wendy's International Inc named Steve Farrar to the new position of chief of North America operations, effective April 14. The hamburger chain said Farrar will be responsible for improving operations at company and franchise restaurants in the United...

According to a public opinion survey commissioned by the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD), 82 percent of Americans think food companies should be making a greater effort to reformulate for more better-for-you products.Although this is a high perc...

McDonald's Corp. has set out to dispel some myths about ingredients and preparation as part of a yearlong food-credibility campaign"We've been hearing over the years that consumers have some misperceptions about the quality of our food at McDonal...

Hamburger chain Wendy's International (NYSE:WEN) Inc. said Thursday its first-quarter same-store sales declined, partly hurt by a shift in the Easter holiday.Same-store sales at U.S. company restaurants slipped 1.6 percent compared with a 3.8 percent r...

ConAgra Foods Inc. bought Watts Brothers, a private vegetable-processing and agricultural company, for about $132 million in cash and assumed liabilities. In a filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, ConAgra said that the assumed ...