News on Food Trends from Belgium

EU and US negotiators were meeting this week in Miami, USA for the 11th round of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations. Negotiations on tariffs and quotas could have serious implications – either positive or negative - for the agricultural and primary food transformation sector as markets would open up.

Celcaa, FoodDrinkEurope, SACAR and Copa and Cogeca held a high-level Seminar in Brussels today to
discuss the new EU promotion policy for agri-food products which is entering into force on 1 December

With a value chain wide approach, McCain, PepsiCo, SCA, Sodexo, Ardo, Unilever Food Solutions and WWF have joined forces to fight against food waste in the food services sector starting in Europe.

Scientific results of the potato field trials in Flanders and the Netherlands demonstrate that gene stacking is necessary for a strong and lasting resistance to late blight (Phytophthora infestans).

Starch Europe published today the summary report of an updated Life Cycle Assessment study of the European Starch industry

Researchers from Ghent University and the International Potato Center have discovered that sweet potatoes naturally contain genes from a bacterium. Because of the presence of this 'foreign' DNA, sweet potato can be seen as a 'natural gmo'.

Romain Cools, secretary of the Belgian Potato Processors Association Belgapom expresses his views on the free potato market.

Mooij Agro reveals the Croptimiz-r storage computer with personalized overview of your store at Interpom | Primeurs.

Starch Europe (formerly AAF, Association des Amidonniers et Féculiers) announced its support for the European Commission’s Communication for a European Industrial Renaissance at an event held in Brussels October 15.

Europatat, the European Potato Trade Association, announces the appointment of Raquel Izquierdo de Santiago as the new Secretary General of the association.

Belgian Potato packer Pomuni has acquired its competitor Potato Masters in order to scale up operations in a stagnant European potato market [Update: no, they did not]

With two months still to go before the opening of INTERPOM | PRIMEURS 2014, the event is already bigger than last time – and virtually fully booked.

The Dewulf group has reached a preliminary agreement for the acquisition of Miedema, the one to go to for development and production of modern technology for storage, sorting, transport and planting of potatoes.

Belgapom is partnering with research institutions to developed a platform to increase the efficiency of potato production, combining data from drones and satellites.

Mydibel Group, manufacturer of fresh and deep-frozen potato products and dried potato flakes and granules, has invested in the construction of 2 ha of photovoltaic panels - the largest industrial solar field in private hands in Wallonia

Europatat, the European Potato Trade Association, is pleased to announce the final programme of the annual Europatat Congress, in Brussels (Belgium) on 22-23 May 2014.

Based upon grower surveys in the 5 main potato countries in Northwestern Europe, the NEPG (North-western European Potato Growers) calculates with an area growth for consumption potatoes between 3,5 and 4% more.

Europatat welcomes the European Parliament plenary vote on plant health that results in more responsibilities for operators and a common sense on trade