June 13 , 2008

WAL*MART POTATO SUPPLIERS SHOWCASE “POTATOES…GOODNESS UNEARTHED™” FOR 15,000 AT ANNUAL SHAREHOLDERS MEETING

Wal*Mart associates and shareholders converged on Northwest Arkansas, June 4-6, for the annual Wal*Mart shareholders meeting. As part of the event, suppliers are given the opportunity to showcase their products and programs in a huge, outdoor three-day event on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville. This year Wada Farms, Farm Fresh Direct, Mountain King, Bushman’s, Bushwick, and NonPareil were given the opportunity to co-sponsor a booth that highlighted the United States Potato Board’s (USPB’s) new campaign signature, “Potatoes…Goodness Unearthed™”. The 15,000 plus associates and shareholders alike got to see the new campaign signature first hand, and taste some great, made from fresh, fries. This is a great example of the industry working together to help get the new industry nutrition campaign message out.

(Editor’s Note: With this issue of Industry Update, USPB Industry Communications staff launches a new section spotlighting stories from Industry Partners on how they have incorporated USPB programs, domestic or international, with their retail partners, foodservice partners, etc. We encourage all potato suppliers to please share their Industry Partnership stories via Industry Update. Please e-mail your stories to David Fraser, Vice President, Industry Communications & Policy, david.fraser@uspotatoes.com. Pictures are always a great addition to a story, so please include those as well. We look forward to including many more of these stories in the future.)

USPB AWARDS GRANT MONEY FOR SCHOOL WELLNESS PROGRAMS

On May 15, the USPB and the School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) had the privilege of awarding $2,500 to each of 10 schools who had applied for the 2008 USPB School Wellness Grant. This program was designed to reach school foodservice decision makers with meaningful information about potato nutrition and to increase the number of potatoes items menued.

Response to the grant program was overwhelming, generating more than 300 grant applications. The potato industry would be proud to know how a majority of these schools want to integrate potatoes beyond their cafeterias—into their history, science, health, reading and PE classes. A review committee, comprised of two USPB representatives and five SNA scholarship committee members, judged the applications based upon the following criteria:

1. Did the school understand the need to provide better nutrition and/or physical activity for their students?
2. Was the program innovative in how they incorporated healthfully prepared potatoes? Did it support the need for purchasing new kitchen or PE equipment or for implementing new nutrition programs?
3. How comprehensive their plan was and could it be sustained beyond the one school year?  

A common theme among the winning grant applications was their dedication to finding interesting ways to bring health and wellness alive in their schools. Some of the favorite ideas were:

• A celebration of 2008 as the International Year of the Potato, weaving it from the cafeteria into classroom curriculum
• Cooking clubs and contests that emphasize the importance of healthy preparation
• Daily school-wide exercise programs, outside of PE
• Utilizing in-school radio and television broadcasts to reach students with potato nutrition information in a light and fun way
• Tasting demo days so students can try different preparations and varieties of potatoes—beyond baked, mashed and fried.
• Family Nights that bring together students’ families and serve up healthy meals (usually utilizing newly purchased baked potato bars)
• Student cookbook and recipe exchanges

Please visit www.potatogoodness.com for the list of schools that received the 2008 USPB School Wellness Grants. And for more information, please contact Meredith Myers at 303-369-7783 or meredithm@uspotatoes.com.

PRESS COVERAGE OF 2008 5-A-DAY KICK-OFF PRESS CONFERENCE

Following the April 22, 2008, kick-off press conference for the Formosa Cancer Foundation's (FCF) 5-a-Day program, Taiwan print, television, radio, and internet media highlighted the event over 100 times. Both Chinese and English media reported on the event with a total of 26 newspaper articles, 57 internet articles, 23 television reports and seven radio spots.

This is great exposure for the overall program and for all of its supporters, including the USPB. The Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) Taipei, along with 13 U.S. producer associations, partnered with FCF this year, the second year of a three year Global Based- Initiative program through the Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS), to promote increased consumption of US fruit and vegetable products in the Taiwan market. The 2007 program was a great success and became popular with the media because of its focus on improving the diet and health of Taiwanese children. This year’s program looks to be off to a great start and will include several new initiatives to encourage fruit and vegetable consumption, including a retail promotion in over 200 grocery stores island-wide where children can receive a NT$10 discount on a variety of products, many of which are produced by US growers.

Former Minister of Finance and current Chairman of the Yuanta Foundation, Mr. Ching –Chang Yen, a prominent supporter of the program, makes a speech stressing the importance of fruit and vegetable consumption during the press conference, April 22, 2008.	A variety of U.S. fruit and vegetable products are promoted through the Formosa Cancer Foundation’s 5-a-Day program with help from the Foreign Agricultural Service Global Broad-Based Initiative.

USPB DEVELOPS SCIENTIFIC COMMENTS; RECRUITS NUTRITION PROFESSIONALS TO DELIVER INDUSTRY POSITION BEFORE USDA LISTENING SESSIONS ON WIC AND CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS

Serving over eight million women and children throughout the United States, the Women, Infant and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program has left potatoes out of the program. Clearly, this is unacceptable to the US potato industry, and in light of the current UN International Year of the Potato publicity widely stating that potatoes deliver more nutrition per acre than any other row crop and positioning potatoes as one of the likely answers to eventually eliminating world hunger, the omission of potatoes from a US government domestic nutrition program is unbelievable.

From past issues of Industry Update, the industry is well aware of the USPB’s role in providing the scientific documentation and expert witnesses to make the industry’s case. Following is the testimony prepared by USPB staff and USPB consulting nutritionist, Dr. Katherine Beals, PhD, RD, for use in the USDA Listening Sessions:

“My name is _____________ and I am here to testify on behalf of Oldways Preservation Trust, a non-profit "food issues think tank" whose mission is to translate the complex details of nutrition science into the familiar language of food. The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act signed into law on by President Bush on June 30, 2004, has, without a doubt, been invaluable in expanding the availability of nutritious foods and meals to more women, infants and children, both in and outside the school setting. Similarly the recently proposed revisions to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), specifically focusing on providing more whole foods and healthier options to participants are commendable. Nonetheless, there are inconsistencies within the revision that need to be corrected before it is released in its final form, October 2009.  Specifically, I want to focus USDA’s attention on the singular exclusion of white potatoes from the WIC food package. As this testimony will demonstrate, there is absolutely no nutritional reason for excluding white potatoes. In fact, there are a number of important reasons that potatoes should be part of the WIC food package.  These include:

1. Potatoes contain key nutrients currently consumed in inadequate amounts by all Americans, and in particular, by participants in the WIC Program  (e.g., potassium, fiber, and vitamin C)
2. Potatoes can be a bridge to eating other vegetables because of their popularity and versatility
3. Potatoes are economical and their inclusion would maximize WIC program dollars
4. Potatoes are recognized, prepared and well-liked by virtually every socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic group

“Because of time constraints, I will focus my testimony largely on the first issue, that is the nutritional contribution of potatoes to the diets of Americans, particularly those who qualify for the WIC program.   

“As indicated in the interim final rule of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, a primary reason for the revision of WIC food packages was to make them more consistent with the new Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) recommended dietary intakes for individuals (RDAs). Of particular concern were the recent increases in the recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) for vitamin C and potassium. Specifically: 

• In 2001 the IOM increased the RDA for vitamin C from 60 mg to 90 mg for men and 75 mg for women1. Meeting this revised guideline will likely prove difficult for most Americans, particularly women and children. Indeed, USDA data comparing vitamin C intake to the old RDA shows that nearly 40% of (37.5%) Americans are not reaching this goal2, which means even more are missing the mark since the RDA for Vitamin C was raised. A medium potato (5.3 oz), eaten with the skin, provides 45% of the DV for vitamin C, the same amount as a serving of spinach, but more Vitamin C than one medium carrot, (10% DV), tomato (40% DV) or sweet potato (30% DV). 
  
  
• In 2004 the RDA for potassium was increased from 3500 mg to 4700 mg3.  Research indicates that most American adult women are getting little more than half the recommended amount of potassium4. A medium white potato provides 620 mg of potassium, which ranks it highest in potassium content among the 20 most frequently consumed raw vegetables and the 20 most frequently consumed raw fruits.

“The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans identified several “nutrients of concern”; that is, nutrients most likely to be consumed by both adults and children in amounts low enough to be of concern6. These nutrients included, among others, vitamin C and potassium. Thus, from a nutrient content perspective, it makes little sense to exclude potatoes from the WIC package. In fact, few other fruits or vegetables contain the levels of vitamin C and potassium that potatoes do. 

“It is our understanding that a primary reason for excluding white potatoes from the WIC food packages was the concern that consumers already consume significant amounts of potatoes and, thus, excluding potatoes might encourage the consumption of a wider variety of vegetables. This faulty logic not only goes against the basic tenants of behavioral psychology, but is not supported by scientific research. In fact, a recent study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association challenges this faulty notion and provides support for the importance of including potatoes in the WIC food vouchers. In this study, Dr Debra Herman and her colleagues from UCLA’s Department of Community and Health Sciences sought to evaluate the purchase decisions of individuals given access to fruit and vegetable vouchers similar to those proposed in the final interim rule of the revised WIC food package. By evaluating actual voucher based purchase decisions, the researchers hoped to determine if participants, through unrestricted choice, would use the vouchers to purchase fruits and vegetables that would increase their dietary intake of vitamins A and C, potassium and fiber, the specific nutrients of concern for the WIC participants. It should be noted that in this study, potatoes were not excluded from the list of allowable fruits and vegetables. A total of 452 women enrolling for postpartum services at three selected WIC program sites in Los Angeles, CA, participated in the study. Subjects were of mixed ethnicities, with the largest percentage being Hispanic (~80%). Subjects were provided vouchers redeemable at a local supermarket and a nearby, year-round farmers market. Vouchers were issued bimonthly at the level of $10/wk.

“The results indicated that the vouchers were almost fully used by the participants and that a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables were purchased. Redemption rates for the vouchers were 91% for the farmers market and 86% for the supermarket. Tomatoes, carrots, iceberg lettuce, and broccoli were the top four most frequently consumed vegetables, potatoes ranked 5th. Of these, only broccoli and tomatoes contain more vitamin C than potatoes and none contain more potassium. Indeed, while carrots provide significant amounts of beta carotene, iceberg lettuce, which was the second most frequently consumed vegetable (consumed twice as often as potatoes) is virtually devoid of nutrients. The authors concluded, that ‘with the exception of lettuce, the most frequently consumed vegetables (including potatoes) were significant sources of potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A, and/or dietary fiber—food components determined to be of high priority in revising the WIC food package by a recent IOM study.’

“If the goal of the WIC food package is truly to encourage the consumption of more fresh fruits and vegetables so as to meet the US Dietary Guidelines and IOM RDAs, particularly for those key nutrients of concern, then potatoes should not only be included in the package, but increased consumption should be encouraged among participants. 

“Thank you for your time and consideration.”

References

1. National Academy of Sciences. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotinoids. 2000. http://www.nap.edu
2. USDA’s 1994-1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals. U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1999. www.barc.usda.gov/bhnrc/foodsurvey/home.htm 
3. National Academy of Sciences. Dietary Reference Intakes for Fluid and Electrolytes. 2004. http://www.nap.edu
4. Adams PF, Hendershot GE. Current Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey 1996. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital and Health Statistics Series 10, no. 200 (Hyattsville, MD: 1999).
5. Pennington JAT. Documentation for the 1995 Nutrition Labeling Values for the 20 Most Frequently Consumed Raw Fruits, Vegetables, and Fish. Washington, D.C.: Food and Drug Administration; October 1995, revised June 1996.
6. 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture. www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines
7. Herman  DR, Harrison GG, Jenks E. Choices made by low-income women provided with an economic supplement for fresh fruit and vegetable purchase. J Am Diet Assoc. 2006;106:740-744.

70 MT OF DEHY PURCHASED BY USDA!! DEHY CONTINUES TO AID MALNOURISHED CHILDREN AND PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS

An additional 70 MT (10,032.75 cwt fresh weight equivalent) of dehydrated potato flakes (dehy) was purchased by USDA, June 3rd for Africare, a non-governmental organization (NGO) working in Africa. The dehy will be utilized in programming for severely malnourished children and people living with HIV/AIDS in Burkina Faso. 

The purchase, a second for the Burkina Faso Africare program, is a direct result of a USPB training and pilot project in Burkina Faso in September 2006 that followed an October 2005 training mission in the US. Due to a number of factors, including application timelines, government budgets and approvals, purchasing schedules and shipping, it typically takes approximately one-two years for a commodity to be purchased by the US government from the time the application is submitted by the NGO. 

To date, through the International Food Aid Initiative (IFAI), 8,620 MT of dehy, worth $7,891,835, has been purchased by the US government for use in food assistance programming.

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