News on Food Trends from Canada

Potato farmers in Atlantic Canada are worried about their supply with COVID-19 and extreme weather conditions causing complications.

EarthFresh’s Paper Revolution offers retailers a full potato product line in 100% compostable paper packaging.

EarthFresh launches new Biobased Mesh Packaging for Baby Potatoes and Baby Sweet Potatoes.

Romain Cools, President, and CEO of the World Potato Congress Inc. (WPC) announces the appointment of three new Directors to its Board effective July 1, 2020: Dr. Nigel Crump, Australia, and Mrs. Elven Huang, China, both former WPC International Advisors, and Mr. Bret Nedrow, USA.

McCain Foods confirmed that layoffs have occurred at its Carberry potato processing plant in an email sent by the company to the Sun on Wednesday.

COVID-19 has shaken the whole world-impacting society and the global economy similar to the effect of a world war.

'This will help to ensure no product is lost so that farmers are in a good position for the 2020 growing season'

Restaurant closures have slashed demand although ‘chip sales have been great,’. French fry sales are down across North America as tens of thousands of restaurants have closed during COVID-19, which means the potato industry has to adapt quickly.

McCain Foods announced a donation of up to 20-million pounds of potato products to support Food Banks Canada, Second Harvest, and other local food security organizations across the country.

Cavendish farms haven’t laid off any staff yet because of the coronavirus (COVID-19), but a spokeswoman for the company says short-term layoffs are expected.

Québec Parmentier merges with Patate-Saint-Ambroise of Saguenay. The joint announcement was made by Pierre Chouinard, Chief Executive Officer of Québec Parmentier and Mathieu Bouchard, President of Patate-Saint-Ambroise.

COVID-19-related restaurant closures lead to ‘curtailment’ of french fry production. Cavendish Farms has advised the P.E.I. potato producers under contract to supply the company with spuds to 'sell to other markets if they can'.

In light of the rapid escalation of safety precautions to decrease the transmission of COVID-19, the CPMA Board of Directors and 2020 CPMA Convention and Trade Show Organizing Committee have made the difficult decision to cancel the event.

The increase in world potato production stalled in 2018 and failed to recover significantly in 2019. World output slipped by 1.5% to 368.247 million tonnes in 2018 figures just released by the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation show.

A growing number of Prince Edward Island potato farms are taking advantage of new technology to improve their use of crop protectants, including fungicides used to prevent late blight.

Registration is now open for restaurants hoping to be crowned champion during the 3rd annual Potahto Week presented by Peak of the Market. The 10-day event challenges restaurants to put forward a signature dish made with Manitoba grown potatoes.

A study initiated at the University of Manitoba will look into the potential benefits of the consumption of (potato-based) resistant starch on renal (kidneys) health

Potato processing plants in Manitoba and Alberta may not run at full capacity this winter. About 20,000 acres of potatoes were in the ground in Manitoba as of the middle of October, and growers needed two weeks of favourable weather to harvest the crop.