Potato News from New Zealand

Las mariquitas podrían ser la clave para la salvación de un insecto transmisor de una bacteria para la industria de la papa de Nueva Zelanda.

Research conducted by the Bio-Protection Research Centre at Lincoln University, using the southern ladybird as a biological control agent, has shown the predator to be voracious and effective at reducing tomato-potato psyllid (TPP) numbers.

A $15,000 travel grant from the Lincoln University Foundation has proved of real benefit to the farming and potato chips business of New Zealand couple Ray and Adrianne Bowan, who won the 2011 Lincoln University Foundation South Island Farmer of the Ye...

Frozen foods company McCain Foods New Zealand boosted profit by 27 per cent to $11.4 million for the year ending June, helped along by stronger sales during the Rugby World Cup.

The New Zealand-based company CropLogic is the first winner of IBM’s SmartCamp Australia and New Zealand, part of a global program for start-up companies. CropLogic, which was the only New Zealand finalist in the program, is a provider of predictive d...

South Canterbury potato growers look to be digging up a bumper crop this season as harvesting gets well underway. The region has about 35 growers, growing a variety of commercial varieties.

The Food &Grocery Council is welcoming a significant drop in concentration of acrylamide in potato crisps, and says it will continue to work with industry to find ways of lowering its levels in other foods, CEO Katherine Rich said today. She is re...

A new Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) report shows that the concerted effort by New Zealand's potato crisp manufacturers to lower acrylamide in their products is paying off.

Potatoes New Zealand is coming under the international spotlight for its groundbreaking initiatives promoting healthy eating choices to children and young people.

Want to know the real way to a woman's heart this Valentine's Day? Look no further than the humble potato.

It is not all one-way traffic from New Zealand to Australia as recent significant business decisions by Heinz-Wattie's and McCain Foods have shown.

New Zealand potato exports reached a record high in the past year as more than $100 million worth of produce left New Zealand shores. Over 93,000 metric tonnes of potatoes, including 30,000 tonnes of fresh potatoes and 62,000 tonnes in frozen product...

A Christchurch man has been fined $10,000 for illegally taking groundwater to irrigate potato and onion crops. Ivan Court was fined after admitting illegally irrigating crops at a farm in Ryans Rd, Yaldhurst, for five years. Court's company, Birchbro...

The Blackstone Group announced today that its private equity funds have agreed to acquire Antares Restaurant Group in New Zealand from Anchorage Capital Partners. Headquartered in Auckland, Antares has the exclusive franchise development rights for t...

Potatoes and other reportedly high-GI foods might not be the dietary villains that recent publicity, books and health-based programmes would claim them to be, a new University of Otago study suggests.

A number of batches of Bluebird potato chips are being recalled after pieces of blue and green rubber were found inside some packets. The Ready Salted Original Cut Chip packs were produced at the Bluebird Auckland manufacturing plant. Bluebird is war...

A major pest called the tomato potato psyllid, has cost the potato industry over a $120 million since its initial discovery in 2006, according to a new report from Potatoes New Zealand. Ron Gall, Business Manager for Potatoes New Zealand, presented th...

A compostable take-away container made by Potatopak from waste potato starch has won the 2011 Unpackit Award for New Zealand’s best packaging.