News on Potatoes for processing from the Americas

A shortage of locally grown processing potatoes is threatening to make the Canadian province of Manitoba an importer of spuds for the first time in more than two decades and will lead to production cuts in at least one local processing plant.

The first acrylamide test results have become available from the Washington and Idaho National Fry Processor Trials (NFPT).

Potato Processors in Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon used 6.99 million cwt of raw potatoes during October, down 1 percent from October 2009, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

As potatoes began rolling into the two processing plants in Price Edward Island this fall, it became relatively easy to determine when they were harvested. Maybe not the exact date, but at least whether they hit the warehouse before the first of a ...

Toner Farms Ltd. of Grand Falls was named the 2009 McCain Champion Potato Grower for Grand Falls.

During the production of par-fried french fries, problems can occur if the potatoes used in the process start becoming opaque. This happens when the starch in potatoes is converted into sugars.

The amount of reducing sugars in the potato are responsible for the colour formation of fried products. So if potatoes are too high in reducing sugars, they are not suitable for processing.