News on Food Trends from Northern America

The World Potato Congress has announced its next webinar for Thursday, January 14, 2021 with Todd Forbush, Engineer with Techmark, Inc.

McCain Foods announces leadership changes to its Canadian Foods Service Sales Team. With an outstanding 44 years of service, Jeff Veysey has decided to retire on December 31, 2020.

Taco Bell's Nacho Fries were incredibly popular and the fans of these tasty fries were highly disappointed when they were discontinued. Now they are back! But only for a limited time during the holidays, starting December 24.

Potato Production in Canada for the year 2020, is estimated at 104,203,000 hundredweight. This is down 1.4 million hundredweight or 1.3 percent below de production in 2019.

Snack fans have asked for more customization for years and Frito-Lay is responding in a big way. Frito-Lay today announced a new way for shoppers to customize their own Frito-Lay Variety Pack to fit the snacking needs of their household.

Two University of Maine researchers, Greg Porter and Han Tan, are part of a team of plant geneticists and breeders working to develop tools that will help Maine scientists and farmers become more efficient in bringing novel, improved potato varieties to market.

In humid climates, there is a high risk of topsoil loss from erosion on bare soil as well as nitrogen from fertilizers leaking or leaching from the soil into water sources, which can cause groundwater pollution.

Potato packer Skone & Connors installs Tong grading and washing equipment. The custom-built potato grading and washing solution enabled this US based company to increase their sizing capabilities of both dirty and washed crop, whilst reducing waste.

PepsiCo, Inc. recently announced that Pietro Antonio Tataranni, MD has been named the company's global Chief Medical Officer. He will oversee the company's efforts to protect its global workforce, products, and communities in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Duravant LLC announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Cloud Packaging Solutions from its parent company, Hearthside Food Solutions LLC.

Two out of Three Consumers Plan to Stock Up on Snacks More Now Than Before the Pandemic, with Dips Seeing Dramatic Increase in Lead up to the Holidays Due to Convenience, According to Latest U.S. Snack Index

Launching new research in support of Washington potato growers, Washington State University is partnering with industry leaders to study healthier, more sustainable, and productive soils.

Snack manufacturer Utz Brands, Inc. announced the acquisition of Truco Enterprises, a leading seller of tortilla chips, salsa and queso under the ON THE BORDER brand

U.S. potato exports for the July – September quarter were down significantly compared to the same period in 2019. This drop is a result of the pandemic's continuing impact on the demand in many markets, particularly in SE Asia and Central America, and the tight supplies of U.S. frozen potato products.

From fruits and snacks to entire meal solutions, the frozen category in the USA is experiencing all-time sales highs over the past year.

During the Idaho Potato Commission's (IPC) October meeting three new Commissioners representing the grower sector of the industry were sworn in.

Velocity Snack Brands (VSB) launches two new Popchips product lines in over 2100 Kroger Co. stores in the United States to meet evolving consumer snacking habits, with further distribution to follow.

Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE: UTZ) ('Utz' or the 'Company'), a leading U.S. manufacturer of branded salty snacks, today reported financial results for its third quarter ended September 27, 2020.