News on Food Trends

Maine potato growers are thriving thanks to a late blight spraying advice offered by the University of Maine's cooperative extension program.

A case packer has been designed to pack sensitive products and can incorporate a range of case formats including hood, tray and wraparound, claims the manufacturer. Global packaging equipment supplier, Focke & Co, unveiled its new packaging technolo...

Competition and market access are the two biggest issues facing the potato industry as it tries to expand exports.“We had been benefiting from having a weak dollar, but that has also made the cost of international programs higher,” said Bart Connors, ...

As if unemployment rates, home foreclosures and the deepening recession weren't enough, the beleaguered casual-dining industry has to fend off new, formidable competition: fast-food chains. As consumers increasingly trade down to fast food, several pla...

Britain’s biggest crispmaker, Walkers, is aiming to take a bite out of the market for posh crisps by launching its own upmarket brand, Red Sky. Walkers does not appear anywhere on the packaging, presumably because the Leicester-based company did not fe...

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) has completely overhauled its oldest and biggest store brand, a move likely to send shock waves through the ranks of branded grocery manufacturers around the globe. For the past year, Wal-Mart has worked with suppliers and consu...

Seven years ago, alarms were sounded that acrylamide, a compound found in foods heated at high temperatures, could cause cancer. However, studies have not uncovered links to colon cancer or breast cancer, and now comes word from a Swedish study indicat...

Last year’s economic slowdown and supply chain issues, including ingredient availability problems and vendor pricing, had a large affect on the global food and beverage market. In spite of these deterrents, the industry lost only 5.1% of its market val...

The province Alberta has put an end to Calgary's trans fat initiative. In January 2008, the Calgary Health Region began limiting the amount of trans fats restaurants could use to less than two percent. It was the first part of a multi-phase initia...

With potato-processing plants around the world, McCain Foods has a total production capacity to make more than one million pounds of french fries an hour. In fact, the company makes one-third of all frozen french fries in the world. Despite the high pe...

The potato industry needs innovation to create a long-term rise in demand, U.S. Potato Board President Tim O’Connor said at the group’s annual meeting.“There’s a difference between increasing demand and just getting a temporary sales bump,” O’Connor sa...

Portion-controlled packaging for snacks could play a dual role in fighting raging obesity rates by reducing consumer calorific in-take and heightening awareness to portion size, finds new research from the US. Scientists at the University of Colorado D...

Potatoes are for more than just french fries. With the federal government's aid, a nation-wide network of researchers co-ordinated from Fredericton is hoping to develop new uses for spuds - and help Canadian farmers cash in. The federal government is i...

The Canola Council of Canada (CCC) today announced a new wave of investment - $350,000 - into research on the role of canola in the prevention and treatment of heart disease and diabetes.The announcement of funding under the Canola Product Research Fun...

Ever wonder why those French fries taste so good when you are depressed?Here’s one theory: Salt is a natural antidepressant, which might explain why we have a tendency to over-ingest it.Kim Johnson, a psychologist from the University of Iowa, discovere...

A small group of New Brunswick potato industry experts led by provincial Agriculture and Aquaculture Minister Ronald Ouellette is in Cuba this week for a follow-up on seed potato exports and to evaluate trials of different varieties of seed potatoes s...

McCain Foods is targeting a share of the frozen vegetable market with the launch of the sub-brand Express. The microwaveable range, which rolls out this month, is aimed at busy professionals with little time to prepare food, but who are keen to maintai...

McDonald's has announced that it is appointing Kenneth Chan from Singapore as its new CEO for he China area, replacing Jeffrey Schwartz. Chan has 12 years working experience in McDonald's. Prior to this appointment, he was regional manager for Malaysi...