News on Food Trends from United Kingdom

UK Supermarket chain Tesco has announced it will issue contracts worth £12 million over three years to help support British Agriculture, and become the first retailer in the UK to introduce new long term contracts for potato growers and packers.

Waste from potato crops could be ‘recycled’ into personal care products such as medical gels and beauty creams – thanks to a new University of East Anglia (UEA) research project.

Ian Wright CBE, Director General at the Food and Drink Federation, the voice of the UK's largest manufacturing sector - food and drink, responds to the vote to leave in the UK's EU Referendum.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s Chief Executive, Jane King, comments on the Brexit vote earlier today.

Farm Electronics Limited, a UK based potato storage specialist has become part of the Tolsma-Grisnich group. The company will continue to trade and manufacture crop storage systems as Farm Electronics Limited

Purple Magic, a Northern Ireland potato with high anthocyanin content, was bred by Paul Watts at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute and just reached the finals of INVENT 2016, a Northern Ireland innovation competition.

In the United Kingdom, Kettle Foods Ltd is supporting the KETTLE® Bites range throughout May and June, with the aim of educating target consumers that the new products offer great taste, but also a lighter eat for everyday snacking

McCain Foods (GB) in Whittlesey, near Peterborough, has been fined £800,000 (1.15 million USD) for safety failings after an employee nearly lost his arm.

El AFBI (Instituto de Agroalimentación y Biociencias) de Irlanda de Norte ha desarrollado una papa morada, conocida como Purple Magic. Los investigadores la desarrollaron con la esperanza de que tenga propiedades anticancerígenas debido a los efectos beneficiosos de las antocianinas (los pigmentos), que son un tipo de compuestos antioxidantes.

A team of scientists from The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) and The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC) have developed a new method to accelerate isolation of plant disease resistance genes and - using their new method - a brand new source of blight resistance genes in Solanum americanum, a wild relative of the potato.

Delegates of AHDB Potatoes first ever Next Generation Programme overwhelmingly voted McCain Foods as their ‘Best Industry Host’, presenting the award at their final session at AHDB Headquarters, Stoneleigh Park, last month.

Elveden Farms, a West Suffolk estate is set to become a Regional Research & Demonstration Hub for potato growers and suppliers, thanks to funding from the Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative.

McCain Foods (United Kingdom) has admitted breaching health and safety regulations after a worker nearly lost an arm in an industrial accident at the McCain Foods Whittlesey plant in August 2014

Tong engineering announces the expansion of its range of vegetable processing equipment through a partnership with Netherlands-based food processing equipment manufacturer, Marcelissen.

“Harnessing the power of leading bloggers and vloggers, as well as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube channels will enable us [AHDB Potatoes] to reach more consumers and engage with them on a more regular and impactful basis. As research shows, this is clearly the way forward.”

In the United Kingdom, AHDB Potatoes has announced that it is searching for the first farmer host for its new Scottish Strategic Potato (SPot) Farm.

Delegates of AHDB Potatoes’educational programme ‘Next Generation’ spoke on spuds and the needs of the £4.1bn GB potato sector on an informative visit to Westminster (parliament) and NFU London last week.

How are Potatoes served around the World? McCain Foodservice takes a look at recipes around the world.