Potato News from the United States

Snack food sales in the United States jumped 10.5% to USD 616 million during Super Bowl Week 2022, according to new data from IRI commissioned by SNAC International (SNAC).

Mikesell’s, a snack food company based in Dayton, Ohio, has announced it will be closing after more than 100 years in business. Luke Mapp, President of Mikesell’s, thanked the community, consumers, and partners for their support over the past 112 years.

With Super Bowl LVII just around the corner, consumers are looking forward to not only rooting for their teams, but also enjoying their favorite snacks alongside family and friends.

Potato retail sales in the United States increased in dollar value by 17.2% but decreased in volume sales by -1.3% from October – December 2022 compared to the same timeframe a year ago.

UK Potato packer Cockerill relies on five Herbert OCULUS optical sorters from Key Technology to ensure final product quality.

After more than 25 years and three generations of FastBack, Heat and Control® takes advanced knowledge of horizontal motion conveying to the next level. FastBack 4.0 is the culmination of more 10 years of development and multiple international patents.

USDA’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) recently announced funding (USD 6.8M) for Potatoes and Pests – Actionable Science Against Nematodes (nicknamed PAPAS).

Calbee's Harvest Snaps is introducing a righteously cheesy addition to its lineup of veggie snacks: White Cheddar Baked Green Pea Snacks.

A recent study of 1,500 patrons (consumers who eat out at restaurants) identified habits and opinions of restaurant patrons related to potatoes.

Reading Bakery Systems (RBS), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of snack production systems, now has their sustainable-design electric-powered convection oven available for customer product trials at the RBS Science & Innovation Center.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison has a new partner to improve the efficiency of seed potato production at the Starks Early Generation Seed Potato Farm in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

Campbell Soup Company is closing its Snacks offices in Charlotte, North Carolina and Norwalk, Connecticut. Most of the company’s office-based employees will be unified in its headquarters in Camden.

Frito-Lay announced the near completion of its Modesto, California, facility's transformation into a first-of-its-kind showcase for sustainable manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution technologies.

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: LW) announced today its fiscal second quarter 2023 results and updated its fiscal 2023 outlook.

On Jan. 4-5, more than 1,800 U.S. potato growers and industry members from a dozen countries turned out for Potato Expo 2023, hosted by the National Potato Council, at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Aurora, Colorado

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service is awarding USD 202.7 million to more than 60 U.S. agricultural organizations to help expand export markets for U.S. farm and food products through the Market Access Program.

Gusmano and Ryan Norton of Walther Farms were elected chair and vice-chair, respectively, during the MPIC meeting in East Lansing on Dec. 15, 2022.

University of Idaho researchers are introducing genes from a plant in the nightshade family into potatoes, seeking to develop spuds that resist harmful nematodes.  The plant, called ‘litchi tomato’, has natural resistance to several species of cyst and root-knot nematodes.