News on Food Trends

Health and wellness have been top of mind for many European and US consumers for some years, but now, this is also becoming a key theme in the Middle East and Africa.

Steve Easterbrook, former CEO and President at McDonald's has left the company, following the Board's determination that he violated company policy and demonstrated poor judgment involving a recent consensual relationship with an employee.

Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. announced that it has signed a research agreement with Boise, Idaho-based J. R. Simplot Company, to evaluate three novel yield traits in potato.

As potato harvest starts to wrap up across the Northwest, how does the 2019 crop look?

Potato processing plants in Manitoba and Alberta may not run at full capacity this winter. About 20,000 acres of potatoes were in the ground in Manitoba as of the middle of October, and growers needed two weeks of favourable weather to harvest the crop.

UK Storage systems provider Crop Systems Limited is adding new features to its SmartStor® controller, which will help users reduce storage costs, while improving their ability to manage stores remotely on mobile devices. See it at BP2019!

TOMRA Food, junto a Compac y BBC Technologies, ambas pertenecientes al Grupo TOMRA Food,mostraron sus novedades en la Feria Internacional del Sector de Frutas y Hortalizas, FruitAttraction, que celebró su 11ª edición en IFEMA.

Jeroen Kuin, Agroplant, Medemblik: 'No customer wants to depend on only one or two varieties for processing.'

Willem in 't Anker, C. Meijer BV, Rilland: 'There's a constant need for new potato varieties, also for French fries.'

Tigran Richter, Norika/Binst, Sanitz (D): 'For every interesting potato variety that performs better than what we already have, there's a chance in the market.'

Rindert Dankert, Breeding Company Kooi, Leeuwarden: 'In order to increase a possible success, we focus mainly on the early segment.'

Harry van de Vijver, Germicopa, Quimper (F): 'Give us yellow-fleshed French-fry varieties with broad nematode resistance.'

As of October 1, the new JASA packaging line at potato company Nedato in Oud-Beijerland is in operation. Nedato added this new packaging equipment to cope with the demand for smaller packaging in retail.

Peter van Eerdt, Danespo Holland, Berltsum: 'No one is really 100 percent happy with the potato variety that they grow or process.'

Jörg Renatus, Europlant Holland, Heerenveen: 'We perceive a demand for robust, stress-resistant varieties with nematode resistance.'

SoilEssentials Ltd will be showcasing 'Tuberzone' their precision farming solutions for potato cultivation at the upcoming BP2019, the potato industry event.

Jan-Paul Bandsma, De Nijs, Warmenhuizen: 'We're looking for strong, robust, drought and heat resistant varieties.'

Jan-Eric Geersing, Caithness Potatoes Nederland, Emmeloord: 'New French-fry varieties must excel in at least one characteristic, but in fact have two good ones.