News on Food Trends

Prince Edward Island Potatoes was delighted to have Col. Chris Hadfield, former Commander of the International Space Station helping to dig potatoes on Halloween morning against the backdrop of a clear blue sky and the beautiful West River.

The market for Prince Edward Island potatoes is holding strong despite the recent reports from six Atlantic Canadian locations of needles found in potato shipments from an Island grower.

Robert Tominaga, president of Heyburn, Idaho-based Southwind Farms, has seen demand for the fingerlings his company grows and other specialties rise dramatically in recent years.

McCain Foods (Canada) is voluntarily recalling McCain brand Hashbrowns from the marketplace due to possible plastic contamination

Starch Europe (formerly AAF, Association des Amidonniers et Féculiers) announced its support for the European Commission’s Communication for a European Industrial Renaissance at an event held in Brussels October 15.

Maureen Storey, PhD, president and CEO of the Alliance for Potato Research and Education (APRE) today announced the formation of the APRE President’s Circle, a new membership category designed to strengthen industry value chain collaboration

Oregon’s Occupational Safety and Health Division is investigating how an employee at Oregon Potato Co. in Boardman severed four fingers on her right hand in a workplace accident

The Snack Food Association (SFA) will participate in the PACK EXPO Partner Program November 2-5, 2014 at McCormick Place in Chicago, SFA President & CEO Tom Dempsey announced.

Another potato has been found with a sewing needle inside, the Prince Edward Island RCMP announced yesterday. This is the seventh sewing needle discovered in a potato.

El día 16 de octubre se inauguró el Simposio científico “Cambio climático y seguridad alimentaria en el Perú: impacto, adaptación, resiliencia” organizado por la Embajada de Francia en el Perú, el Instituto de Investigación para el Desarrollo (IRD) y el Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP).

RCMP says metal objects were intentionally placed. Police believe all affected fries at Cavendish Farms did not leave facility.

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.

Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE: INGR), a leading global provider of ingredient solutions to diversified industries, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Penford Corporation (NASDAQ: PENX), a U.S.-based leader in specialty ingredients for food and non-food applications.

Florimond Desprez, an independent family‐owned company, has acquired Germicopa, the leading French potato seed company and world leader in firm flesh potato varieties.

The first wave of results from the Australian industry-funded Potato Tracker project have been released, shedding encouraging new light on purchase triggers and consumption habits relating to fresh potatoes.

By contributing approximately 7% of dietary fiber to the U.S. food supply, new research from APRE found that white potatoes are an importance source of this nutrient for Americans.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 191.5 points in September 2014, down 5.2 points (2.6 percent) from August and as much as 12.2 points (6.0 percent) from the corresponding period last year.

PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) today reported organic revenue growth of 3.1 percent and core earnings per share of $1.36 for the third quarter.