Potato News from New Zealand

Potatoes New Zealand chief executive Champak Mehta says the industry now has the potato psyllid well under control thanks to the knowledge gained through research.

Bluebird Foods (New Zealand) is recalling batches of its bags of potato chips after finding some may contain plastic pieces.

McCain Foods has installed a new model potato peeler in Timaru, New Zealand. Timaru is the first of the company's factories in the world to use the new model.

The new Wyma Bin and Bag Tipper gently tips fresh produce stored in bags, bins or boxes too heavy for manual unloading.

Potatoes New Zealand Inc. has won funding from the Ministry of Primary Industries for a major research project aimed at improving crop yield, more specifically, the impact of crop rotations on soil borne diseases and soil quality.

Timaru's Heartland Potato Chips is benefiting from the nationwide potato shortage in New Zealand.

Wyma is proud to present a Vege-Polisher that is smarter, easier to maintain and more hygienic than ever before.

There's a major potato shortage in New Zealand and it's big enough that it's forced chip producers to temporarily stop production in the countdown to Christmas.

Potatoes New Zealand chief executive Champak Mehta said potato growers around the country were reporting that weather conditions were causing a bit a of a harvesting headache - especially getting the delicate new season's potatoes out of the ground safely

New Zealand Potato production in 2013, at 525,000 metric tons, was marginally (5%) ahead of 2012 production. t is likely planted areas in 2014 will be similar to 2013, with production in the range of 500,000 to 550,000MT.

About 20 food manufacturing workers at the McCain Foods New Zealand, Hastings plant are expected to lose their jobs. The plant announced to workers a proposal to reduce year-round production of TV dinners to just 10 days per year.

The New Zealand Seafood Processor Sealord is set to name the former managing director of McCain Foods in Australia and New Zealand - Steve Yung - as its new CEO

Dr John Baker, a soil scientist who was a finalist for the World Food Prize in 2013, is calling for the authorities to look at soil quality when preparing environmental policies. He says that while most local bodies have robust policies to address air and water quality, they overlook soil quality.

The mighty potato has pushed out tomatoes to take the title of New Zealand’s number one favourite vegetable.

While the potato industry is still waiting for clearance to be allowed to send fresh potatoes to Australia, a new market is rapidly opening up. The industry has high hopes for a new market in Vietnam.

New research has been funded through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, to help the potato industry reduce issues caused by an insect intruder – the tomato-potato psyllid.

La investigación que adelanta la Universidad de Canterbury sobre papas libres de cadmio podría ayudar a eliminar otra posible amenaza a la seguridad alimentaria.

More details have come out in the sale of Mr Chips by Simplot to New Zealand's Balle Bros, first reported by PotatoPro on August 18.