News on Food Trends

Washington potato producers will vote from June 9–23, 2017, on whether to continue the federal marketing order regulating the handling of Irish potatoes grown in Washington.

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.

The Northwest Potato Research Consortium recently approved a combined $1.5 million in grant funding to 37 research projects.

La Comunidad Andina de Naciones (CAN) y el Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP) ampliarán sus trabajos conjuntos en la zona andina y con miras al Congreso Mundial de la Papa, que se celebrará en el Cusco en 2018, para lo cual suscribirán próximamente un convenio marco de cooperación.

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.

A partnership between Idaho State University and Boise State University has been awarded an Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission (IGEM) grant to research the application of the Humigator in potato storage.

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.

La escasez, que ha disparado su precio y vaciado los estantes de los supermercados, ha puesto de manifiesto, además, el férreo proteccionismo que el país asiático ejerce sobre sus productos agrícolas.

Health Canada is introducing a regulatory proposal to prohibit the use of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs)—the main source of industrially produced trans fats—in food to help protect the health of all Canadians.

In the United States the potato chip category maintains a dominant lead over other salty snacks in terms of overall sales, but household spend on meat snacks is a not-too-distant rival and is gaining ground.

McCain Foods USA, Inc. announced yesterday it is expanding the voluntary recall of retail, frozen hash brown products that may contain golf ball materials with Wegman’s Brand 28-ounce bag of frozen O’Brien Hash Browns (UPC 07789036523).

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.

Steve Gangwish of Watertown, South Dakota and Dan Moss of Declo, Idaho were appointed to the Potatoes USA Executive Committee on March 16, 2017

Today Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) announced that it has completed the acquisition of protein-based snacking businesses Thanasi Foods LLC, maker of Duke's® meat snacks, and BIGS LLC, maker of BIGS® seeds (collectively, Thanasi).

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.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Research plant pathology team intentionally infected potato plants with psyllids positive with the bacterium that causes zebra chip disease, in order to identify promising germplasm in the battle against the disease plaguing the US potato industry for the past 15 years.

Frito-Lay today announced it is voluntarily recalling select Jalapeño Flavored Lay’s Kettle Cooked potato chips and Jalapeño Flavored Miss Vickie’s Kettle Cooked potato chips due to the potential presence of Salmonella in the seasoning.