News on Chips and Snacks from Northern America

PepsiCo Inc., the world's largest snack maker, said second-quarter profit rose 9.1 percent after it boosted prices for potato chips and streamlined delivery routes. Net income increased to $1.70 billion, or $1.05 a share, in the three months ended Jun...

The Inventure Group, Inc. today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 28, 2008. Net revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 were $29.2 million, representing an increase of 28% compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2007....

The Washington office of NASS said Washington growers planted fewer potatoes and more dry peas and will have lighter peach and apricot crops. Washington winter wheat production is expected to reach 109.7 million bushels this season, up 1 percent.Potato...

A fresh jalapeño pepper grown in Mexico and processed in Texas has tested positive for the strain of salmonella that has sickened more than 1,200 people in recent months, food safety and health officials said today. The U.S. Food and Drug Administratio...

It's not the Great Irish Potato Famine of the 19th century, but the summer of 2008 has turned into a major test for potato-chip producers across the country. The price of a bushel of chip potatoes has doubled in the last few months, going from $9 to a ...

Potato chip producer Ira Middleswarth &Son may soon see the end of the potato shortage that slowed their July production to a crawl, according to a company official. Thanks to Midwestern crop shortages, the Middleburg-based chip maker endured three...

The board of directors of ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) approved a dividend payment of $0.19 per common share, to be paid on Sept. 4, 2008, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Aug. 1, 2008.

Dr. Don Henne isn’t wasting his degree when he’s standing by the deep fryer waiting for potato slices to turn brown. He’s conducting research that will help the potato industry and consumers. Henne, an assistant research scientist in the Texas AgriLif...

DSM Food Specialties introduces a complete portfolio of application-specific and tailor-made PreventASe™ solutions. PreventASe™ is now available in three formulations covering specific food applications under the following sub-brands: Panna™, Bicra™ an...

It’s getting harder to find a brand that doesn’t claim to be green. But, do they have a solar power factory? Is the rest of their energy use offset by energy credits? And, are they rebuilding a town that was virtually wiped out by a tornado? Not likely...

Nearly 5,000 pounds of potatoes an hour are processed into potato chips at the Hermiston Snack Alliance plant, which runs three shifts, six days a week. The Hermiston Snack Alliance plant has added two production lines to make riceworks brand snacks. T...

Cargill has opened a new innovation center for snack and cereal products which it says will help food manufacturers create new products that drive sales growth.   The agro-giant's Snacks and Cereal Product Innovation Center in Minneapolis, which is no...

Snack maker Frito-Lay has signed a long-term lease for a 35,000-square-foot, build-to-suit distribution facility in Fort Myers, FL.   The building will include state-of-the-art racking and distribution equipment, a 30-foot clear height and 5,000 squar...

Herr Foods is still in the chips despite a recent potato shortfall.The southern Chester County salty snack maker purchases about 15 tractor-trailer loads of potatoes each weekday.That's 3.4 million pounds a week, roughly 125 million to 150 million poun...

Last year, in the U.S., an average of 126 pounds of potatoes per person were consumed, according to the Department of Agriculture. Twelve percent of the total -- 16 pounds -- was in the form of chips. That's where the Hoekstra family comes in. For ha...

A study has found that “diet-sized snack portions encourage people to eat more,"The Daily Telegraph reported. The newspaper said that researchers had warned that smaller sized packets could make people believe they had already limited their food ...

The Inventure Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNAK) announced today that it has been added to the Russell Microcap Index after the Russell Investment Group reconstituted its comprehensive set of U.S. and global equity indexes on June 27, 2008. "We are very pl...

Chips manufacturer Ira Middleswarth &Son, a Snyder County company, is having trouble because of the weather. Normally, Ira Middleswarth &Son gets eight tractor-trailer loads of potatoes from its supplier each week. Middleswarth Vice President...