News on Energy and Environment from United Kingdom

NewCold has unveiled its newly-completed expanded deep frozen storage and distribution centre which, says the company, is now the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom.

British potato chip maker Walkers is being inundated with mail deliveries of its own packaging. Empty bags are mailed to Walkers to hold the company accountable for its packaging waste and to pressure the company to come up with a better design.

Research at the James Hutton Institute has identified genetic variations which can help protect potato crop yields at high temperature, potentially providing potato breeders with a valuable tool in their quest to create varieties resilient to heat stress

The Potato Processing companies in the United Kingdom have released a statement through the Potato Processors’ Association Ltd (PPA), expressing their concern for the impact of current weather conditions on UK potato processing sector.

The total area in Great Britain planted with potatoes is estimated at 119,000 hectares(ha), a fall of three per cent on the previous year. This would represent the third-lowest planted area on record, with an agricultural drought likely to affect yields.

McDonald’s restaurants in the UK and Ireland will complete transition to paper straws in 2019; In Belgium the QSR chain is testing alternatives to plastic straws and trials are planned in the United States, France, Sweden, Norway and Australia later this year.

Plans to expand the McCain Foods (GB) potato processing factory in Eastfield (Scarborough) have been approved by planners last Thursday, clearing the way for the proposed £100m investment (USD 130 million).

Scientists have identified a version of a single gene involved in the heat stress response that is more active in potato types that can tolerate high temperature, potentially providing potato breeders a tool to make potato varieties less vulnerable to increased temperature.

In the United Kingdom, farming minster George Eustice (DEFRA) has approved a four-year trial of genetically modified (GM) potatoes at The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich.

McCain Foods announces an investment of £100m (USD 120m) in its Scarborough Potato Processing Plant (United Kingdom).

Branston, one of the biggest potato suppliers in the United Kingdom, has officially opened its £5 million prepared potato factory extension in partnership with Tesco.

Waste from potato crops could be ‘recycled’ into personal care products such as medical gels and beauty creams – thanks to a new University of East Anglia (UEA) research project.

Researchers in the United Kingdom aim for a new commercial potato that resists many of the worst vulnerabilities of potato crops around the world.

The UK food industry has seen a surge in the sales of organic foods according to an annual report by the Soil Association.

Unilever and IOI Loders Croklaan have signed a global partnership designed to drive efficiency, increase capacity and quality of specialty oils and fats as well as commodity oils.

An international team of experts led by Newcastle University has shown that organic crops are up to 60% higher in a number of key antioxidants than conventionally-grown ones.

Fabcon HCFS 220 Batch Fryer produces up to 220 kgs of finished product per hour using the same or less energy than competitive equipment producing 120 kgs, according to the company.

Machinery manufacturer Tong Peal has announced a brand new machinery finishing process, as part of continued efforts to provide farmers and growers with the highest quality custom handling equipment.