News On French Fries and Potato Specialties

A weak Canadian Dollar and shipping disruptions at the Port of Seattle (Washinbgton, US) could increase demand for Canadian potatoes in 2015, says a spokesperson for the United Potato Growers of Canada.


ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) today reported results for the fiscal 2015 third quarter ended Feb. 22, 2015.

H.J. Heinz Company and Kraft Foods Group, Inc. today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement to create The Kraft Heinz Company, forming the third largest food and beverage company in North America with an unparalleled portfolio of iconic brands.

New research from an Iowa State University economist, Wallace Huffman, found consumers were willing to spend more for genetically modified potato products with reduced levels of a chemical compound linked to cancer.

Pizzoli S.p.A., Italy's largest operator in the potato sector and Bio-on S.p.A., the leader in eco-sustainable chemical technologies, will collaborate to build Italy's first PHAs bioplastic production plant using waste product from the potato agro-industrial process.

The first line of J.R. Simplot Co.'s genetically modified potatoes has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration as safe for human consumption. The voluntary FDA safety review found that the potatoes are as safe and nutritious as conventional potatoes.

According to the Grocer, McCain Foods GB has introduced frozen mashed potato (650g) in the United Kingdom for its retail customers.

The Cameroonian Ministry of Industry has just issued a call for tenders to hire a research firm to conduct a technical, institutional and financial study on behalf of the government to create a potato-processing project for Kumbo in the North-West region.

ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) announced the winners of its 2015 Sustainable Development Awards yesterday, an internal awards program that drives and rewards imaginative approaches to sustainability and produces bottom line business results.

Lamb Weston / Meijer, one of the top three producers of processed potato products in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), has published its third sustainability report.

A new University of Michigan study confirms what has long been suspected: highly processed foods like chocolate, pizza and French fries are among the most addictive.

When Leah Cook and her family moved to the St. John Valley 15 years ago and took up organic gardening and raising animals on their Grand Isle farm, she said more than one resident dismissed them as “hippy farmers.”

Last month, McDonald's India has cut the amount of calories and salt on its Indian menu as it fights to hold on to customers in a rapidly growing developing market where newer, healthier fast-food options are just starting to catch on.

It was bound to happen. This isn't out of the blue. It makes perfectly good sense. In South Korea, McDonald's is rolling out honey butter french fries.

Columbia Basin potato processors slowed down during the West Coast port impasse, making fewer potatoes into french fries, hash browns and other potato products shipped around the world.

According to a new market report “Global Market Study on Frozen Food: Frozen Ready Meals to be the Largest Segment by 2020” published by Persistence Market Research, the global frozen food market was valued at $122.1 billion in 2013 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.6% from 2014 to 2020, to reach an estimated value of $156.4 billion in 2020.

ConAgra Foods, Inc. is announcing today Sean M. Connolly as its new chief executive officer. Connolly will replace Gary M. Rodkin, current CEO of ConAgra Foods, effective April 6.

Rodney McCrum, president and chief operating officer of Pineland Farms Naturally Potatoes, says he is dedicated to growing the company he started with a dozen other potato farmers in 1995.