Shane Webster of Rexburg, ID, was elected to the United States Potato Board (USPB) Executive Committee at the organization’s 36th Annual Meeting held in Denver, CO, March 12-14. Webster is serving his third year on the USPB and first year as co-chairm...

Driven by increasing population, rising standards of living and disposable incomes in developing countries, the world vegetable oils market is projected to reach 138 million metric tons by the year 2010. With the mature North American, and European mar...

Acrylamide, that surprised scientists when it was discovered in certain foods might not be as big a concern after all, an Augusta researcher said. Dale Sickles, a neurotoxicologist and vice chairman of Cell Biology and Anatomy at Medical College of Ge...

PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) reported continued strong operating performance in the fourth quarter of 2007. Net revenue increased 17% in the quarter and reported operating profit increased 9%;core division operating profit, excluding restructuring items, increa...

A new United States Potato Board (USPB) website, www.potatogoodness.com, joined the Board’s online cache of resources championing the goodness and nutrition found in America’s favorite vegetable. This consumer website went live January 17, 2008 and re...

Super Bowl Sunday is the “Super Bowl” of snacking. Research by the Calorie Control Council and the Snack Food Association finds that Americans will eat 30 million pounds of snacks on the big game day. That breaks down to 11.2 million pounds of potato ...

With 2008 designated the International Year of the Potato, ten Latin American countries and Spain have formed the Latin American Network for Innovation on Potato Improvement and Dissemination, known as Red Latinpapa. The network was announced following...

As part of its continuing strategy to develop new market opportunities for US potatoes, the United States Potato Board (USPB) has initiated a frozen potato program in Central America. Countries to be targeted include Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, N...

Fluctuations in mass flow can have serious consequences for the product quality in the freezing or frying process. In addition, not running a line optimally can result in increased downtime, as operators must stop the line to clean the conveying belt....

Procter &Gamble Co. might spin off, instead of sell, its Folgers coffee business.   Media reports, cited unidentified sources, said the Cincinnati-based company, which has said it is exploring sales of slower-growing brands, was interested in a sp...

ConAgra Foods Inc. won't close three production plants that had been slated for shutdown in a multiyear reorganization effort, signaling a shift in emphasis from cutting costs to growing sales. "We've had good success with sales of new products, a...

Boise-based J.R. Simplot Co. has purchased H &R Ag Inc., a Pasco-based agriculture supplier and retail business. No financial details of Monday's deal were disclosed. But Bill Whitacre, president of the Simplot AgriBusiness Group, said the acquisi...

'Kosher' was the most frequently used claim on new products launched in the US during 2007, while 'All Natural' and 'No Additives or Preservatives' were amongst the other most popular claims used on new products, reveals data from Mintel's Global New P...

The Idaho Potato Commission's advertising programs garnered a number of new awards in recent weeks, including three for a special potato-peeling demonstration by actress Dawn Wells.Wells, best known for portraying Mary Ann on the popular comedy Gilliga...

Tesco has become a food manufacturer for the first time as part of its efforts to win over US shoppers. The UK food chain, which has more than a 30 per cent share of supermarket shopping in its home market, has built an 80,000 sq ft food preparation...

States from Connecticut to California have looked this year to mimic the success of large cities like New York in banning artery-clogging trans fats from restaurants. But in the 14 states that have so far proposed a ban or restriction, not a single b...

Washington potato farmers harvested more than 5.1 million tons of potatoes in 2007, the state's second-largest spud harvest in history. Chris Voigt, executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission, said the state's potato farmers dug up ...

PepsiCo Inc said on Wednesday it is on track to meet its full-year earnings forecast, less than 10 days after it announced it would reorganize itself into three business units.