News on Food Trends from Europe

The Antwerp Court of Appeal has sentenced a farmer in the Belgian province of Antwerp to pay a large fine and damage compensation to Breeders Trust for not reporting his acreage farm saved seed for the varieties Asterix and Fontane which are protected under Plant Breeders’ Rights.

Recent flooding of the global seed vault in Svalbard caused a stir, since it was designed to last forever. Luckily all seeds (including several thousand potato seeds) are OK, but already adaptations to the vault may be needed to deal with climate change.

Interpack 2017 scored a record attendance of 2,865 exhibiting companies. Furthermore, 74% of the approximately the 170,500 visitors travelled to Düsseldorf from abroad, which is another record

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.

Buntata is a collaborative effort between the University of St Andrews and the James Hutton Institute to enable open access to our information resources and put them at the fingertips of potato growers.

The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 168.0 points in April 2017, down 3.1 points (1.8 percent) from March, but still 15.2 points (10 percent) higher than in April 2016.

Despite the fact that the bacteria responsible for zebra chip disease occur in the Mediterranean and cause damage in leek and onions, the risk for transfer to potatoes is low, because of the feeding preferences of the transmitting psyllids in this area.

Lamb Weston / Meijer has reached the completion phase of the acquisition of the potato division of Oerlemans Foods, including a take-over of the plant in Broekhuizenvorst.

Now that the potato planting season is upon us, we have a newcomer in the field. Potato machine manufacturer AVR is launching the trailed Ceres 450 combined potato planter.

Processing and Packaging equipment specialist tna will open a dedicated innovations hall located at Station Airport in Düsseldorf during the Interpack fair to accommodate its ever-growing portfolio of turnkey food processing and packaging solutions.

The organizers of the Europatat 2017 Congress in Antwerp from 15 to 17 June announce the addition of a number of high level speakers to the programme

Pom'Alliance and Pomuni are joining forces in the fresh potato sector. Both companies signed mutual cooperation agreements on March 30, 2017.

AHDB Potatoes has announced the appointment of a new chair and the addition of five new members to its board, replacing five members.

At interpack 2017, Bosch Packaging Technology will show that the connected factory is becoming reality in the process and packaging industry.

Aviko launches I love Skinny Fries, a quirky new fries that appeals to young people.

The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged nearly 171 points in March 2017, down almost 5 points (2.8 percent) from February, but still 20 points (13.4 percent) above its level a year earlier.

The potatoes that will be used in the live demonstrations during the PotatoEurope trade show, which will take place on 13 and 14 September in Emmeloord, the Netherlands, have been planted.

This year will see the launch of the newly released FastBack 260E G3 cartridge system and the integrated
Spray Dynamics ‘Slurry On Demand’ Continuous mixing system and WeighBack.