News on Food Trends from the United States

For casual-dining concepts, which account for more than one third of total U.S. restaurant industry sales, the past two years have seen traditional and upscale casual restaurants battling soft same-store sales, as consumers traded down to lower priced fast-casual competitors and prepared more meals at home.

Voigt, the executive director of the Washington Potato Commission, Moses Lake, is The Potato Man of the Year award recipient. Voigt received the annual award, from The Packer and its sister publication The Grower magazine, in conjunction with the Nati...

Tijdens de vorige week gehouden Potato Expo - het grootste aardappel congres in the Verenigde Staten - werd een nieuw initiatief gepresenteerd om het imago van aardappelen en friet te verbeteren.

Washington lawmakers and agricultural representatives are hoping that a proposal announced Thursday by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood soon will end retaliatory tariffs on American exports to Mexico.

DeMet's Candy Company announced today that it has completed the acquisition of the TrueNorth® nut snack brand from Frito-Lay North America ('FLNA'- a division of Pepsico, Inc.).

Zappe Endeavors LLC, the maker of Zapp’s potato chips, has agreed to be acquired by Utz Quality Foods Inc., the largest independently held snack food company in the country.

La Placita Botanas Mexicanas, Inc. of South El Monte, California is recalling Wheat Snacks with Chile, Potato Chips with Chile, and Corn Churritos with Chile because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Diamond Foods, Inc. announced the launch of a website dedicated to providing information on living a healthy and active lifestyle, www.diamondsnackbetter.com.

Two leading economists, Bruce Scherr and Dave Kohl, see a brighter future in 2011 and beyond for U.S. agriculture, especially for crops that are exported.

Intelligent Global Pooling Systems (iGPS Company, LLC) announced today that Kettle Brand® Chips will begin shipping its products throughout the U.S. on iGPS' all-plastic pallets with embedded RFID tags

In the first known study to address the effects of potato consumption on antioxidant status, oxidative stress and inflammation in humans, a team of research scientists worked with a group of Washington adult males to test the hypothesis that antioxidants from colored potatoes would decrease susceptibility to chronic diseases.

As the New Year begins, FoodNavigator-USA predicts the top five factors likely to have the greatest influence the US food and beverage industry in the year ahead.

National Restaurant Association News

The program for the 2011 Washington-Oregon Potato Conference is packed with scientific reports, national and state updates on the industry and of course a keynote speaker.

The overall economy may continue limping along in 2011, but American farmers could plow their way to record harvests.

The global market for organic food & drink is recovering from the financial crisis. After several years of double-digit growth, the market expanded by just 5 percent in 2009.

Potential end users who learn about U.S. dehydrated potatoes at trade shows and seminars and who decide to incorporate dehy into a product don’t have to go it alone.

A small group of scientists in white lab coats — some bearing the Pepsi logo — wander through their laboratory, describing the state-of-the-art equipment.