News on Food Trends

A recent study by Roy Morgan Research shows that potato chips are still Australia’s most popular snack food, with a third of Australians aged 14+ in the year to March 2013 buying the product in an average four-week period.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 205.9 points in July 2013, 4 points (nearly 2 percent) below its revised value for June and 7 points (or 3.3 percent) lower than in July 2012.

McDonald's Corporation today announced that global comparable sales increased 0.7% in July.

Potato processor McCain has contracted Soltens to remove and recycle by-products from its Scarborough french fry factory.

BMO released the results of a survey which found that supporting regional economies, farmers and jobs, along with fresh food and taste, all trump the cost of food for people choosing to buy local.

Industry leaders with the Maine Potato Board said Thursday that after a wet and soggy spring which forced some growers to do some replanting, crops are recovering and if the weather holds, Aroostook County is on track to have a bountiful potato harvest.

About the same number of potato psyllids have been caught on sticky traps in Idaho fields this season as by this time last summer, but far fewer of the tiny, winged insects have tested positive for the Liberibacter bacterium, which causes the crop dise...

The Highlander crisps plant at Bathgate, West Lothian, closed on July 31 with the loss of 28 jobs.

Greenvale, the UK’s leading potato supplier, is putting spare spuds from its Shropshire site, Tern Hill and Cambridgeshire site, Floods Ferry, to good use by using them to tackle food waste by working with food distribution charity, FareShare.

Potato Council’s summer ‘Many Faces of Potatoes’ campaign has been hailed a major success, following positive industry and consumer feedback.

AUSVEG, the National Peak Industry Body for Australian vegetable and potato growers, has welcomed the Prime Minister's acknowledgement of the importance of investment in agribusiness as part of his announcement of an election to be held on 7 September.

The North-Western European Potato Growers (NEPG) has issued an updated estimate of planted area for the 2013 crop (at the start of July).

The United States Potato Board (USPB) has named produce industry veteran, Blair Richardson, as President/CEO, effective August 1, 2013.

SignalDemand recently announced that ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston has selected SignalDemand's EnterpriseOptimizer(TM) software solution to provide additional insight into how to maximize output and visibility of its potato supply and production capacity.

Thousands of fast-food workers at many of the biggest US restaurants have staged walkouts in 7 US cities. The workers are demanding a pay raise to $15 an hour, compared with average wages across the industry closer to the federal minimum wage of $7.25.

Snack Food Company LesserEvil has set up a new factory in Danbury, Connecticut where it now produces kettle corn and Popcorn made from chia seeds.

It may surprise many people to learn that China has been the world's largest producer of potatoes since 1993. But it should not be entirely unexpected. The Chinese diet has changed drastically since the economic reforms of the 1980's.

Tom’s of Maine, a leading natural products company focused on oral and personal care, is looking to reduce end-of-life waste from its products even more by experimenting with biodegradable packaging made from potato starch.