News on Health and Nutrition from Northern America

As consumers increasingly turn online for their food and beverage needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, PepsiCo, Inc. announced the launch of PantryShop.com and Snacks.com, two direct-to-consumer websites where shoppers can order an assortment of PepsiCo's brands.

This year, this is a season when dreams die. Due to an epic potato glut that imploded his market, he has decided to do what was once unthinkable — destroy part of his crop rather than sink more dollars into cultivation.

'This will help to ensure no product is lost so that farmers are in a good position for the 2020 growing season'

The J.R. Simplot potato processing plant in Grand Forks has closed for two weeks, beginning on Thursday, April 23.

Total acres of Idaho’s iconic potato crop could decrease significantly this year as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Although there was a rush on potatoes at grocery stores early on.

Restaurant closures have slashed demand although ‘chip sales have been great,’. French fry sales are down across North America as tens of thousands of restaurants have closed during COVID-19, which means the potato industry has to adapt quickly.

Black Gold Farms, Grand Forks, N.D., will start the harvest of red potatoes in Texas soon. The company will be harvesting the potatoes for about a month, starting in early May in Pearsall, Texas, according to a news release.

Studies show that 70-80% of people research a company online before making a purchase. Shoppers search to find information about their potential food purchases in addition to the companies that produce it and what they stand for.

With coronavirus severely affecting the potato supply chain, a farm in Idaho is giving away about 2 million potatoes so they don't go to waste. First come, first served.

McCain Foods announced a donation of up to 20-million pounds of potato products to support Food Banks Canada, Second Harvest, and other local food security organizations across the country.

Cavendish farms haven’t laid off any staff yet because of the coronavirus (COVID-19), but a spokeswoman for the company says short-term layoffs are expected.

As of April 13, the novel coronavirus pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China late last year had been attributed to over 119,000 deaths worldwide, of which more than 23,000 have been recorded in the United States and more than 10,000 in New York alone.

While food manufacturers supplying to foodservice are suffering from lost revenue and layoffs, companies primarily serving retail customers are faced with exactly the opposite. One example is potato processor Idahoan Foods.

The utilization of U.S. grown potatoes increased by 3.3% in volume in 2019 compared to 2018, an increase of 1,183 million pounds.

Last week Lamb Weston presented its Fiscal Third Quarter 2020 Results. The company withdraws its Fiscal Year 2020 Outlook due to Uncertainty from the COVID-19 Pandemic’s Effect on Global Restaurant Traffic and Consumer Demand.

COVID-19-related restaurant closures lead to ‘curtailment’ of french fry production. Cavendish Farms has advised the P.E.I. potato producers under contract to supply the company with spuds to 'sell to other markets if they can'.

Reyco Systems normally supports the food industry exclusively, but now hospitals across Idaho have asked the Caldwell-based company for help in the fight against the new coronavirus.

The last few years have proven that snacking in the U.S. has become a lifestyle, with consumers snacking across the day. At the same time, COVID-19 is having an immediate impact on consumers’ food and beverage purchase and consumption behaviors.