Potato News from Northern America

The discolouration that blights cooked potatoes has plagued the potato industry for many years. This phenomenon, known as after-cooking darkening, is one of the most undesirable characteristics and has been reported from every potato-growing area in the world.

For casual-dining concepts, which account for more than one third of total U.S. restaurant industry sales, the past two years have seen traditional and upscale casual restaurants battling soft same-store sales, as consumers traded down to lower priced fast-casual competitors and prepared more meals at home.

Voigt, the executive director of the Washington Potato Commission, Moses Lake, is The Potato Man of the Year award recipient. Voigt received the annual award, from The Packer and its sister publication The Grower magazine, in conjunction with the Nati...

Tijdens de vorige week gehouden Potato Expo - het grootste aardappel congres in the Verenigde Staten - werd een nieuw initiatief gepresenteerd om het imago van aardappelen en friet te verbeteren.

Washington lawmakers and agricultural representatives are hoping that a proposal announced Thursday by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood soon will end retaliatory tariffs on American exports to Mexico.

DeMet's Candy Company announced today that it has completed the acquisition of the TrueNorth® nut snack brand from Frito-Lay North America ('FLNA'- a division of Pepsico, Inc.).

Zappe Endeavors LLC, the maker of Zapp’s potato chips, has agreed to be acquired by Utz Quality Foods Inc., the largest independently held snack food company in the country.

York-based Bickel's Snack Foods Inc. made no ironclad promises to Mark Troyer when Troyer agreed to sell Troyer Potato Products Inc. in December 2008.

La Placita Botanas Mexicanas, Inc. of South El Monte, California is recalling Wheat Snacks with Chile, Potato Chips with Chile, and Corn Churritos with Chile because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Diamond Foods, Inc. announced the launch of a website dedicated to providing information on living a healthy and active lifestyle, www.diamondsnackbetter.com.

Two leading economists, Bruce Scherr and Dave Kohl, see a brighter future in 2011 and beyond for U.S. agriculture, especially for crops that are exported.

Lamb Weston recently concluded its third annual holiday food drive, resulting in donations of 306,673 pounds of frozen and canned foods, along with $8,195 in cash.

Bayer CropScience representatives are gathering with potato growers during the National Potato Expo (January 5-7) to discuss the features and benefits of Movento® insecticide.

Intelligent Global Pooling Systems (iGPS Company, LLC) announced today that Kettle Brand® Chips will begin shipping its products throughout the U.S. on iGPS' all-plastic pallets with embedded RFID tags

In the first known study to address the effects of potato consumption on antioxidant status, oxidative stress and inflammation in humans, a team of research scientists worked with a group of Washington adult males to test the hypothesis that antioxidants from colored potatoes would decrease susceptibility to chronic diseases.

As the New Year begins, FoodNavigator-USA predicts the top five factors likely to have the greatest influence the US food and beverage industry in the year ahead.

National Restaurant Association News