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....

"Spuds Rule OK"is a brand new booklet produced by the British Potato Council (BPC) to help caterers, school meal providers and local authorities meet the government’s nutritional guidelines for school meals. As well as being packed full of nu...

India's top tobacco firm, ITC Ltd, on Friday beat market forecasts with a 16 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by strong growth in packaged foods and hotels, as it bolsters its non-cigarette businesses further.

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...

Robert (Bob) Harding is the new general manager of the Prince Edward Island Potato Board. He will take over Feb. 4 from long-time general manager, Ivan Noonan. Kevin MacIsaac, chairman of the Prince Edward Island Potato Board, says Harding has extensiv...

The latest buzz phrase is “food print”, the amount of land needed to supply one person’s nutritional needs for a year. With the world population growing by an estimated half a billion every decade, and a concomitant loss of agricultural land to housing...

'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...

The soaring cost of food is threatening millions of people in poor countries, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned. Food prices have risen an unprecedented 40% in the last year and many nations may be unable to cope, ...

A New York-style ban on trans fats in food is not needed in the UK because consumption rates are already very low, the official food watchdog has said. The Food Standards Agency's (FSA) Board ruled out mandatory restrictions after reviewing evidence ...

Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), the world's biggest retailer, said it will keep expanding in China at more than 30 percent annually, as it won government approval to open its 100th store in the fast-growing consumer market. The U.S. retail giant currently...

Today, the Dutch Secretary of State for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Gerda Verburg, opened the new factory of Solanic, part of the potato-starch group Avebe.   In her opening speech, Secretary of State Verburg set out her vision of biorefine...

Ontario is taking action to make schools healthier places to learn by moving to drop trans fat from lunchroom menus."Our kids' health is just too important to risk,"said Premier Dalton McGuinty. "Trans fats have no place in our schools a...

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...