Potato News from Northern America

Video with a few glimpses of how Lamb Weston produces their Signature Range Crisscut French fries in their Richland (Washington) potato processing facility.

For 10 years, building a potato processing plant has been on Tom Rolfstad’s to-do list, and the Williston Economic Development director continues to follow up on it.“I do think we’re on the right path,” Rolfstad said. “I think it’s worth pursuing. It ...

Doubling its export volume over the last four years helped win the McCain team the prestigious Exporter of the Year Award for 2009.The award, a joint initiative of Business New Brunswick and Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, was presented by New Br...

A creative Boise eatery that spotlights Idaho's most famous crop has run afoul of the very agency that promotes its most famous crop. The Boise Weekly reports online that the Idaho Potato Commission has given newly opened Idaho Fry Company until the en...

Key Technology, Inc. announced today that it is a winner of the 2009 Progressive Manufacturing 100 (PM100) Award, presented by Managing Automation Media, a Thomas Publishing Company, LLC publication.  The global Progressive Manufacturing Awards Program...

McCain Foods USA announced to employees this morning that it will eliminate approximately 126 hourly and salaried jobs at its Fort Atkinson facility during the next three months.The cuts are the result of production realignments at its appetizer plants...

Consumers are being let in on a secret: ConAgra Foods is the face behind the brands they’ve had on their shopping lists for years. The company revealed a new brand identity today that highlights the tremendous appeal of its products to consumers-- the ...

Manitoba has had a relatively wet spring and according to Tom Gonsalves, business development specialist for potatoes with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI), all the moisture in the soil certainly has the potential to negatively ...

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and the Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA) today announced a new agreement to co-locate the IFT Food Expo and FSPA’s Process Expo at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center beginning in July 18-2010.

The chair of the P.E.I. potato processing committee says growers are content to have reached a deal with Cavendish Farms for this year.Scott Howatt said Thursday growers accepted the first offer as they face what appears to be another difficult year.“W...

Costco Wholesale Corp. here said yesterday consumer packaged goods manufacturers are starting to reduce prices, possibly in reaction to rising private-label sales. According to Richard A. Galanti, executive vice president and chief financial officer, ...

Torrential rains that nearly destroyed north Florida’s potato crop shouldn’t seriously disrupt the U.S. spring potato deal. A week of late May heavy rains flooded fields with 27 inches of rain and destroyed up to 70% of the deal’s potatoes. Tony Rusko...

McDonald's Corp. expects to carry on in successfully besting the recession, the restaurant giant's chief executive told shareholders Wednesday, even as some fast-food chains have shown recent signs of weakness."Our momentum is continuing in 2009,&...

According to Hank Cardello, food industry expert and author of Stuffed: An Insider’s Look at Who’s REALLY Making America Fat, the same problems that have menaced the Detroit auto industry could soon plague the food industry. If food processors don’t wa...

Burger King Corp.(NYSE:BKC) announced today that it is enhancing its BK® Kids Meal menu with offerings that meet its stringent nutrition criteria for advertised Kids Meals, as part of the company’s commitment to its BK Positive StepsSM program. With th...

Columbia/Okura’s A-Series robotic palletizers provide the ideal solution for the demands of today’s high capacity potato packers. They use an end effector ('robot hand') designed specifically to handle the inconsistency of potato bags,.

Combine Oprah Winfrey's endorsement with a chicken giveaway and what do you get? For KFC, the result was an avalanche of attention, some positive, some negative, for its national rollout of Kentucky Grilled Chicken. The frenzy briefly overwhelmed the ...

It was a trip to the Wisconsin State Fair that sparked two Burlington-born sisters into opening a potato bar restaurant in their home town. Micki Gebel couldn’t help but notice the long lines that fairgoers were willing to wait in just for the taste of...