Potato production

1. Potato production • Trade is opting for processed potato. • Processed potato has overtaken fresh potato in terms of output and turnover. • " In 2005 potato production in the developing world exceeded that of the developed world.; " •  Between 1995 and 2005 processed potato output rose from five million tonnes to over 10 and the value of these transactions doubled from 2,000 million dollars to almost 4,000. • Fresh potato was worth less than 2,500 million dollars for an output of just under 10 million tonnes.

2. The top ten potato producers

3. These trade figures highlight another clear trend in the sector: fresh potato consumption in developed countries has been decreasing for over a decade. • The strong demand for fast food, snacks, and prepared products has driven annual growth in the processing industry and has been caused by social change brought about by the growth in urban populations with increasingly less time to cook.

4. Potato production in developed countries, and Europe in particular, has decreased by an average of 1% in the last 20 years. • In contrast, developing countries maintain an annual 5% growth rate, mainly in China and India. • These two countries are responsible for 30% of the world’s potato production (China, 22% and India, 8%).

5. In 1994, the E.U. produced 29%, but by 2005 output had fallen to 20%. • If this data were analysed today, the figures would almost certainly be even lower. • Should the trend continue, then in just twenty years’ time production in developing countries will exceed that of the developed world by 20%.

6. Fifty potato facts • 1.The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is the third most important food crop in the world after rice and wheat. Annual production exceeds 320 million tonnes. • 2.China is the world's biggest producer of potatoes, growing over 70 million tonnes a year. • 3.In the last 40 years the potato has changed from a northern crop, with only 15 percent produced in the south to one in which over half the world’s potato production is in less-developed countries. • 4.Today, more than a billion people worldwide eat potato.

7. 5.People in Belarus eat the most potatoes overall, consuming 184 kg/year per person, way ahead of Russia, at 140 kg/year. • 6.The potato is now grown in about 130 countries of the world and all the states in the USA. • 7.Potatoes were first domesticated in the southeast highlands of South America, in Peru, near the Bolivian border, close to Lake Titicaca, where it has been eaten for more than 8000 years. • 8.There are about 5000 different varieties of potato, mostly found in the Andes. • 9.Potatoes can grow from sea level to 4700 meters above sea level, from Chile to Greenland.

8. 10.At high altitudes, the pre-Inca cultures and later the Incas, bred special frost-tolerate potato plants with high glycoalkaloid (anti-freeze!) content. • Then they dehydrated and freeze-dried the potatoes, using the freezing night temperatures and the hot sunshine of the daylight hours.  • The potatoes were then stored for use by their armies and a guard against famine. • These potatoes, called chuño, are still processed in the same way and eaten today.

9. 11.Spanish explorers brought the plant to Europe in the late 16th century as a botanical curiosity. By the 19th century the potato had spread throughout Europe and elsewhere, providing cheap and abundant food. • 12.One hectare of potato can yield two to four times the food value of grain crops. • 13.Potatoes produce more food per unit of water than any other major crop and are up to seven times more efficient in using water than cereals.

10. 14.Potato has attractive flowers that are five-lobed, 2-3 cm in diameter varying in color from white to deep bluish purple. Some varieties have a strong, attractive perfume. • 15.Potatoes are usually grown from other they can be grown from seed like any other plant. • 16.A potato is about 80% water and 20% solid. • 17.The potato is a member of the nightshade family (Solanaceae) along with chili peppers, eggplant, tomatoes and tobacco.

11. 18.The potato is NOT related to the sweetpotato. • 19.Green potato skins and sprouts contain a toxin called solanine that is poisonous. • 20.Potatoes are an excellent source of carbohydrates, with about 23 grams of carbohydrates in a medium-sized tuber. • 21.Potatoes are very low in fat, with just 5 percent of the fat content of wheat, and one-fourth the calories of bread. • Boiled, they have more protein than maize, and nearly twice the calcium.

12. 22.Each medium size potato provides about 110 calories, with about 3 grams of protein and no fat. • 23.When boiled, a single medium-sized potato contains about half the daily adult requirement of vitamin C, as well as significant amounts of iron, potassium and zinc. • 24.Potatoes contain substantial amounts of vitamin B. • 25.The Spanish noticed that the sailors who ate potatoes did not suffer from scurvy, because of their vitamin C content, and potatoes were soon a standard supply item on the Spanish ships. • 26.Potatoes can provide the body with more iron than any other vegetable, because the iron in potatoes is easier for the body to absorb.

13. 27.An average serving of potatoes with the skin on provides about 10 percent of the recommended daily intake of fiber. • 28.Plain boiled or microwaved potatoes are not high in calories and are an idea part of a low-calorie diet. • However, just one tablespoon of butter will double the number of calories in a baked potato. • 29.The potato contains valuable supplies of such essential trace elements as manganese, chromium, selenium and molybdenum. • 30.Potatoes can have white, yellow, pink, red, purple and even blue flesh color.

14. Yellow is primarily due the carotenoids concentrations and the red, purple and blue color to anthocyanins. • Both carotenoids and anthocyanins are antioxidants and are thought to play an important role in preventing cancer • 31.Because of the way that potatoes transfer heat, an oven temperature above 177 deg C is needed to bake a potato properly. • 32.Potatoes do not absorb salt when they are boiling, so add salt after they have been cooked. • 33.When potatoes first reached Europe, the Scots refused to eat them because they were not mentioned in the Bible.

15. 34.The best French fries (chips) are fried twice. Cut up the potatoes and leave them in cold water for an hour before frying. • Dry them thoroughly then drop them into hot oil and cook them slowly until they are soft in the middle. • Remove them from the oil, drain them well, then dump them into really hot oil. This makes the outer surface golden brown and crunchy. • 35.In 1853 potato chips (crisps) were invented by accident in Saratoga Springs, New York when Commodore Vanderbilt complained to his steward that he made his French fries too thick. • The steward sliced some potatoes as thin as he could, placed them in boiling fat and served them, much to the delight of the Commodore.

16. 36.In the late 1800s/early 1900s, vodka made from potatoes was first produced, in Poland, more than halving the cost of producing vodka from wheat. • 37.About 5 kg of potatoes are required to make one litre of vodka. • 38.In 1903 the Lumière brothers in France patented the autochrome process of colour photography, and first marketed it in 1907. • Microscopic grains of dyed potato starch grains were sandwich held on to a glass negative with silver halide emulsion to produce the first color photography process. • It remained the principal color photography process available, until it was superseded by the advent of color film during the mid-1930s.

17. 39.In 1952, Mr. Potato Head was born, consisting entirely of plastic parts. • Consumers had to supply the potato to attach the arms and legs, etc. • Mr. Potato Head was the first toy to be advertised on network television.  • Mrs. Potato Head appeared in 1953. • Mr. Potato Head has acted in two major films, Toy Story 1 and 2, but has never received an Oscar. • 40.In 1960 Dr. Edward Anton Asselbergs, working for Agriculture Canada in Ottawa, developed the process for making instant mashed potato flakes - the patent that is used world wide today. .

18. 41.In 1974, an Englishman by the name of Eric Jenkins grew 168 kg of potatoes from a single plant. This world record still stands today • 42.In 1975 the largest potato was grown, in England, weighing in at over 8 kg, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. • 43.In 1981, a small company in the UK started selling hedgehog-flavor potato chips (crisps). • 44.In 1993, an inventor in Idaho (Mr. “Pops” Hutchins) patented a gun that used small chunks of flash-frozen potato to remove paint from bricks on old buildings.

19. 45.In 1995, the potato was the first vegetable to be grown in space, aboard the shuttle Columbia, because it is a prime candidate for supplying food for long space voyages to Mars and beyond. • 46.The term 'spud' comes from the Irish name for a type of spade used for digging potatoes. • 47.Store potatoes in a cool, dark place that is well ventilated. Put them in a brown paper bag if storing them in the light.

20. 48.Do not store potatoes in a refrigerator, the starch in them will begin to change into sugar and make them taste sweet and turn dark when they are cooked. • 49.Potato starch is used to make biodegradable golf tees. • 50The International Potato Center (CIP) in Lima, Peru maintains the largest collection of potatoes in the world, including almost 5000 varieties of about 100 wild species. The collection is maintained in trust under the auspices of the United Nations.

21. Potato processing • Commercial policies • Ad valorem import duties are used to protect domestic fresh potato markets. • These restrictive policies include health and phytosanitary measures and technical obstacles to trade. • The consolidation rates for World Trade Organisation agreements vary considerably. • The potato is a classic example of the “progressivity of duties” where importing countries protect their processing industries and the processed product is subject to higher duties than the raw material itself.

22. Potato composition • Potato is a rich source of starch and it is consumed mainly for its calorific value. • Potato also contains significant amounts of vitamins and minerals. • It is estimated that about 25 % of the potatoes, which are spoiled due to several reasons, may be saved by processing and preservation of various types of processed products.

23. Why potatoes? • In the next two decades, the world population is estimated to grow on average by more than a hundred million people per year. More than 95 percent of that increase will occur in the developing countries, where the pressures on earth, water and other natural resources is already intense. • The potato is the most important root and tuber crop in the world. It is a major carbohydrate in the diet of hundreds of millions of people in the developing countries. The crop is fundamental in the diets of populations in countries in South America, Africa, Central Asia and Asia.

24. The potato is the third most important food crop in the world, after rice and wheat. Since the early 1960s, it has outstripped all other food crops in the developing countries in terms of growth in production area, and this trend is expected to continue. • The potato yields more nutritious food more quickly on less land and in harsher climates than any other major crop: up to 85 percent of the plant is edible human food, while for cereals the figure is around 50 percent.

25. Potatoes are rich in protein, calcium and vitamin C and have an especially good amino acid balance. A single medium-sized potato contains about half the daily adult requirement of vitamin C; other staples such as rice and wheat have none. Boiled, it has more protein than maize, and nearly twice the calcium.

26. Potatoes can be harvested in the tropics within 50 days of planting – a third of the time it takes in colder climates. In highland areas of southern China and Vietnam, the potato is emerging as an off-season crop; planted in rotation with potato and maize, it brings relatively high prices at the market. Similarly, in the lowlands of Bangladesh and eastern India the potato's importance as a winter cash crop is rising dramatically

27. Potatoes contribute to health by providing calories and providing nutrients. Potatoes are a valuable source of nutrition in many developing countries, contributing carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals to the diet. Research is underway to increase the vitamin content of modern potato varieties, using biotechnology to boost the micronutrient level in the tubers

28. Potato products and ingredients • French Fries and Potato Specialties • Chips and Snacks • Dehydrated Potato Products • Potato Starch • Other Potato ProductsRead more: http://www.potatopro.com/Lists/News/Other%20Potato%20Products.aspx#ixzz00u1V1Sks

29. The potatoes can be processed for preservation and value addition in the form of wafers/ chips, powder, flakes, granules, canned slices • A potato crisp is a thin slice of potato, either flat or wavy, fried in vegetable oil and salted or seasoned to taste. • Potato granules are used for the preparation of various recipes, to add to vegetable and non-vegetable recipes and to enhance the quantity as well as to enrich the food value

30. There is a huge potential for processed potato products such as potato flakes, potato powder, frozen potatoes, frozen french fries • Potato chips/wafers are one of the most popular snack items consumed throughout world. It is by far the largest product category within snacks, with 85% of the total market revenue • India is one of the largest snack markets in the Asia-Pacific region contributing three percent to the total Asia-Pacific snack market revenue.

31. There is an increased opportunity for the players in Potato chips to act as contract manufacturers for the leading global brands entering the Indian market • The range of potato chip production includes high technology lines having a production capacity from 80 up to 2,000 kg/h of finished product. • The range of French Fry production includes high technology lines having a production capacity from 300 up to 6,000 kg/h of finished product. • Turnkey Project Execution companies are there with attractive offers

32. PotatoStarch • Potato Starch manufacturer Avebe is expecting a substantial lower crop • Netherlands, October 18, 2010 • AVEBE recognizes this year’s Western European weather conditions of a cold spring, hot and dry early summer and wet late summer, being unfavorable for starch crops to grow, inevitably leading to lower yields. • The general indications of the current harvest, which has started recently, shows that the European potato starch crop will be 15 - 20 % lower than average crops.

33. Global supply of wheat and corn are in a similar situation due to abnormal weather conditions. • The market prices are high and very volatile. • Tapioca supply is very low due to mealy bug infestation in Thailand. • Due to these circumstances starch prices are rapidly rising worldwide.Read more: http://www.potatopro.com/Lists/News/Potato%20Starch.aspx#ixzz15x7DZel6

34. French fry • Whether it's straight cut fries, crinkle cut fries, curly fries, or potato wedges, • Heat and Control's french fry and formed potato products frying systems are the workhorses of the industry. • Our fryers, heat exchangers, oil filtration, pumping and control systems can produce up to 50,000 pounds per hour of finished product.

35. French fry processing • Potatoes arriving at a french fry processing plant are the end product of several integrated production systems, all aimed at producing high quality potato tubers. • Once the appropriate cultivar has been chosen, disease-free seed stock is produced and multiplied. • The seed tubers are then planted on a commercial farm to produce the crop destined for processing. • At each level of production, the tubers must be stored under the proper conditions to ensure the processing plant receives high-quality potatoes.

36. Potato Cultivars • Commercial french fries in North America are produced from predominantly two potato cultivars, Russet Burbank and Shepody. • Both have • high specific gravity (a measure of dry matter), • low sugar content and are • oblong to long in shape.

37. These characteristics result in a high yield of long, light-coloured french fries. • Russet Burbank is the mainstay of the industry and the cultivar most in demand by quick service restaurants. • Shepody is used because it matures earlier in the growing season than Russet Burbank and gives a high recovery of finished product. • A good potato crop begins with high quality seed tubers. • Potatoes are propagated vegetatively. A small whole tuber or piece of a larger tuber is planted in the field to produce the crop.

38. Consequently, there is a risk of disease carry-over from one growing season to the next and precautions must be taken to reduce the possible infection of the crop in the field during the growing season. • In Canada, to assure a high level of uniform quality seed, tubers are grown under a national seed certification system. • Seed production begins by establishing plantlets in test tubes thus providing a disease-free environment for their growth. • The process starts with sprouts removed from a tuber and placed on nutrient medium.

39. It can take up to 16 weeks for these sprouts to grow into a plantlet. • Once plantlets are determined to be free of viral, viroid, fungal and bacterial pathogens, they are multiplied by nodal cutting. • The plantlets are divided into pieces and grown on a nutrient medium. • After 6 months of repeated cutting in culture, a single plantlet can yield 18,125 new plantlets. • These plantlets are then used as a disease free source for subsequent seed production.

40. The process starts by using these plantlets to produce Nuclear Stock seed tubers (minitubers) in an enclosed environment, a greenhouse or screenhouse. • The minitubers are then planted the following season to produce the first field generation of seed potatoes. • The potatoes are multiplied in the field for several years on specialized seed farms to produce enough seed tubers to plant the commercial acreage needed by a processing plant. • With each successive field generation, the risk of disease and the level of disease may increase.

41. To minimize the risk, growers rogue all unhealthy plants, follow a proactive pest management program and top kill the vines 80-90 days after planting. • Seed potatoes are also inspected in the field and storage by Canadian Food Inspection Agency officers to meet certification standards aimed at minimizing diseases present in a seed crop. • The presence of disease in seed tubers reduces yield and impacts processing value of the crop. • Potato Leafroll Virus, for example, is carefully monitored because it may result in stem end necrosis in the tubers of some cultivars rendering them unusable for processing, notably Russet Burbank.

42. Each autumn seed tubers are held in dedicated • environmentally controlled storage facilities until spring planting. • To maintain varietal purity, each seed lot and cultivar is stored separately. • Seed tubers are stored at high relative humidity and a constant 4°C to maintain quality and minimize sprout growth before planting. • No chemical sprout inhibitors are used in the seed storage.

43. Producing the commercial crop • When producing a crop of potatoes destined for the fry plant, certified seed tubers are planted in the spring. • It is recommended that growers follow a three-year crop rotation that includes cereals. • At the time of planting, fertilizer is incorporated into the soil. • The crop is managed to produce potatoes with desirable processing characteristics: large size, high dry matter content and lack of internal disorders.

44. Rigorous pest and disease management programs are followed so a healthy crop is harvested and stored. • Growers scout each field regularly for signs of insect pests and diseases, and apply the appropriate control measure when necessary. • Crop growth is monitored closely to ensure vigorous growth, proper plant nutrition and give an indication of crop maturity status.

45. Above-ground green leaves and stems are often removed with chemicals (called topkilling) approximately three weeks prior to harvest. • Topkilling prevents the tubers from getting too large, sets the tuber skin, and allows for timing of harvest to avoid inclement weather (frost) during harvest or supply the fry plant at a desired time. • In New Brunswick, tubers are harvested approximately 110-120 days after planting. • A small portion of the potato crop is processed into french fries directly from the field. The remaining harvested tubers are held in storage.

46. Storing the crop • Storing processing potatoes is a specialized art. • Freshly harvested tubers are first cured at 13°C for several weeks to heal wounds and set the skin. • The temperature is then lowered to 8° - 10°C for long term storage. • Humidity, ventilation and temperature are carefully controlled to maintain tuber quality. • Storage temperatures are kept constant and above 7°C to prevent the accumulation of sugars which result in dark processed products.

47. Sprout inhibitors are applied either as a spray in the field or through the storage ventilation system in the late fall to stop the tubers from sprouting. • Developing sprouts dehydrate tubers and reduce quality. • Tubers must be stored up to 8 months to ensure a constant supply of raw product for the plant. • The potatoes that originated from a tiny piece of sprout in the laboratory over five years ago are now ready to be processed into french fries. • Prepared by: Dr. Loretta Mikitzel, New Brunswick Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Potato Development Centre, Wicklow, NB E7L 3S4 • .

48. French fry processing • French fries (American English, sometimes capitalized, • fries, or French-fried potatoes are thin strips of deep-friedpotato. • Americans often refer to any elongated pieces of fried potatoes as fries, while in other parts of the world, most notably the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of fried potatoes are called fries to distinguish them from the thickly cut strips called chips. • French fries are known as frites or pommes frites in French, a name which is also used in many non-French-speaking areas, and have names that mean "fried potatoes" or "French potatoes" in others.

49. French Fry Processing:Contents • France and French speaking Canada • Spain • Spreading popularity • Variants • Accompaniments • Health aspects • Legal issues • See also • ReferencesA dish of French fries • External links

50. Oven baked fries • The French term 'frite' denotes deep frying, unlike the English 'fried', which may also refer to sautéing or pan-frying, so 'French fried' may simply mean 'deep-fried'. • Thomas Jefferson at a White House dinner in 1802 served "potatoes served in the French manner". • In the early 20th century, the term "French fried" was being used for foods such as onion rings or chicken, apart from potatoes.