Potato News from Northern America

The morbidity-mortality curves for smoking and obesity in the US have crossed as the latter appears to have become the greater health threat, at least as measured by quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) lost, suggests an analysis published online Januar...

It’s virtually impossible to get through a grocery store without buying one of Conagra Foods brands. Hebrew National hot dogs, Healthy Choice frozen foods, Orville Redenbacher popcorn—ConAgra makes those and about 1,500 other products found at the supe...

Two years ago, Orville Redenbacher soared from the graveyard and announced in weeks of TV ads that his popcorn was now free of diacetyl. That's the chemical in artificial butter flavoring that has been blamed for sickening hundreds of workers, killing ...

Higher attendance marks the second year of Potato Expo in Orlando.In initial estimates, more than 1,100 potato industry people are converging in Florida for Potato Expo 2010, higher than the 900 that participated in last year’s event, said Hollee Alex...

A year ago, Ryan Albright and his two business partners were hauling their product in the back of a Toyota Corolla, making deliveries in communities along the St. John River Valley. Today, one year after launching the Covered Bridge Potato Chip Compan...

The nation's top spud state will play host to its 42nd annual potato conference this month under the theme, "Putting Sustainability into Practice." The Idaho Potato Conference is scheduled for Jan. 20-21 at Idaho State University in Pocatel...

The Financial Times reports Walmart plans to cut billions of dollars of supply chain costs by combining its store purchasing across borders and to move towards more global sourcing.The effort forms part of plans by the world's largest retailer to incre...

Hoy sí, a partir del 1 de enero los restaurantes y comederos del estado no podrán utilizar las grasas saturadas o trans, un componente culinario asociado a las enfermedades cardiovasculares, en la preparación de alimentos. La ley que así lo dispone f...

When David Singer took over at Lance Inc. in 2005, he found a sprawling manufacturing operation so decentralized that plants didn’t even buy cardboard boxes together. The information systems were in shambles, and a company that delivered snacks to tho...

The JR Simplot Co. and McDonald's Japan have joined in recognizing the top five growers who supply high-quality raw product for the production of McDonald's french fries and hash browns for the Japanese market."The selection of these five growers ...

Idaho potato growers have banded together like never before through the United Potato Growers of Idaho to try to boost their profits in 2010. The Idaho Falls-based cooperative of spud growers successfully hiked its membership this year to 80 percent ...

Over 20 years' worth of seasonal anti-dumping duties on U.S. potatoes imported into British Columbia are up for review yet again as the latest five-year duty comes due for expiry.As has been the case every five years since 1990, the Canada Border Servi...

The Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) received top honors from trade magazine Produce Business when it was awarded the 2009 Marketing Excellence Award. The promotional items used to support the IPC's comic book-themed campaign were recognized among the bes...

California will bar restaurants from cooking with trans fat beginning New Year's Day, becoming the first state to crack down on the substance tied to clogged arteries, strokes and coronary heart disease. The ban is hailed by supporters as a way to pr...

Keeping up with food and beverage trends is crucial to develop the right menu mix. That’s why restaurateurs turn to the National Restaurant Association to help them stay abreast of the hottest menu trends.The Association each year surveys professional ...

The restaurant industry has lobbied hard against mandatory menu labeling in restaurants, highlighting the importance of a new study from the Rudd Center measuring the impact of menu-labeling regulations. The researchers found that calorie labels result...

I remember hanging out with Jay Gould's family 25 years ago and hearing him talk about starting a business which would initially sell, skin-on french fries and Coca-Cola. I thought it was a bold move for someone who had cut his teeth on one of Canada...

Health Canada is proposing an unorthodox way of combatting acrylamide, a food ingredient suspected in some cancers: It wants to let manufacturers put small amounts of asparaginase - also used as a cancer-fighting drug - into potato chips and similar fo...