July 13, 2007

The United States Potato Board (USPB) participated in the Taipei International Food Show, June 21–24, 2007, in Taipei, Taiwan. Including over 1,500 exhibitors from more than 10 countries around the world, USPB International Marketing Manager Sarah Mahler, USPB International Marketing Committee Member and Idaho grower Shane Webster and Oregon table-stock grower Dan Strebin of Strebin Farms attended the show. Located in the USA Pavilion, the USPB’s booth displayed US purple, red, yellow flesh, fingerling, white and russet potatoes.

During the trade show, Chef Ji Fang Tsai conducted cooking demonstrations twice a day. Chef Tsai is a well known chef in Taiwan, hosting her own TV cooking show and creating her own cookbooks. During cooking demonstrations the chef showed the audience different US potato varieties, talked about their uses and made several different recipes using US potatoes. The cooking demonstrations drew large crowds of attendees eager to taste US potatoes.

During the trade show, many viable trade contacts were made with food importers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers and restaurant buyers. The purple and fingerling varieties created a great amount of interest among the trade, especially with the hotel chefs. The Taipei International Food Show allowed the USPB to not only reach the trade, but provided an opportunity to reach Taiwanese consumers directly.

CHINA FOODSERVICE AND RETAILERS KEEN TO PROMOTE US FROZEN POTATOES

The week of June 11th, Cheryl Koompin, USPB International Marketing Committee Co-Chair and Idaho grower and Susan Weller, USPB International Marketing Manager, Frozen Potatoes, headed to China for the National Excellence Awards ceremony and training seminars held in Guilin, China (Southwestern China close to Vietnam). Eighteen award-winning companies from 12 cities and representing all four regions of China were in attendance. The winners were selected because of their outstanding promotions conducted during the past year featuring US frozen potatoes. A tight two-day schedule allowed each participant the chance to understand the latest culinary trends in the US, as well as some key promotional skills. Koompin gave a presentation on potato nutrition while Weller provided the audience information on US frozen potatoes: quality, value and versatility, as well as 2007 US food trends with the incorporation of potatoes.  In addition, USPB China Representative Daniel Chan spoke about marketing and helped encouraged the flow of new potato menu ideas by the participants through an interactive marketing session. To inspire the development of new dishes using US frozen potatoes as an ingredient, the participants were able to observe detailed preparation procedures for local cuisine recipes during a live demo by a Chinese chef.  

TOKYO AND OSAKA “US MASHED POTATO SEMINARS” SET STAGE FOR INCREASED US DEHY USE
 
US Mashed Potato Seminars were held in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, the week of June 17th, and featured the new "veggie mash" - the mixing of ingredients such as carrots and cumin into frozen & dehy mashed potatoes to add flavor and extra nutrition. In addition, Japanese super chef, Yoshimi Hidaka, owner of several famous Italian restaurants in Japan, demonstrated the use of US mashed potatoes as an ingredient in five different Italian dishes. Susan Weller, USPB International Marketing Manager, welcomed and thanked participants for coming to the seminars, while USPB International Marketing Committee Co-Chair and Idaho grower Cheryl Koompin played a key role by speaking on US mashed potato trends. Each seminar attracted around 50+ foodservice participants as well as a few manufacturers. In addition to meeting with the Ag Trade Office in Tokyo, Koompin and Weller were also able to meet with US potato buyers in Osaka and Tokyo.

USPB INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES MEET IN PORTLAND

The USPB International Marketing Department staff hosted the Board’s foreign representatives for five days of meetings and training in Portland, Oregon, July 9–13.  These representatives carry out the Board’s international marketing programs in China, Japan, Mexico, Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. This annual gathering allows the staff to discuss the programs for the upcoming year and to meet individually with each representative to discuss programs in their market in greater depth. To provide intensive training on the different products promoted by the Board, this year’s meeting was extended. Hands-on training in frozen and dehy potatoes was conducted at the OSU Food Innovation Center in Portland, with experts from Miles Willard Technologies and Grupo PM leading the courses. The representatives also got to hear about the USPB retail “Best in Class” program from USPB Domestic Marketing & Sales Manager, Carroll Graham, and visit supermarkets in Portland to view different types of potato displays. Utilizing the wide variety of US fresh potatoes in various different cuisines was demonstrated by the chefs at Caprials Bistro.

USPB ATTENDS PTA CONFERENCE AND ANNOUNCES WELLNESS GRANTS FOR SCHOOLS

To a crowd of enthusiastic teachers, administrators, parents, grant writers, and state PTA delegates, USPB Public Relations staff recently announced the new School Wellness Grant Program. Once attendees learned about the USPB grant, they were eager to take at least one application from the table, and often, an extra copy for their grant writer, food service director, or a fellow parent or teacher back home. Many said they had a Wellness Policy in place, but could use this money to help enforce it at their school.
 
More than 200 applications were distributed over the three days the trade show floor was open. In addition, the recipe handouts, HMPH brochures, and recipe cards were distributed, and several people declared themselves obsessive potato fans.

“INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE POTATO” INITIATIVE DELIVERS USPB NUTRITION STORY

Using the United Nations’ declaration of 2008 as the “International Year of the Potato” as a platform to increase awareness of the US potato nutrition message, USPB Public Relations staff and public relations agency partner, Fleishman-Hillard, recently made a presentation to the Food Network. The following story, while heavy on the UN mission and Peru as the originators of the UN declaration, strongly delivers the USPB’s nutrition message and represents the first pick-up of this new USPB public relations effort.

A crop for all people
Easy to grow anywhere and chockfull of nutrients, the potato will go far in feeding the world's hungry, according to a United Nations' resolution
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
By JANE MILZA
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- One potato, two potato, three potato, four ... Children of generations past jumped to the sound of that sing-song rhyme.

Now, in the 21st century, its rhythmic effect just might bring joy into the lives of millions of other people.
If that truth holds out, thanks will go to the United Nations and a resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly, specifically its Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), declaring 2008 as "The International Year of the Potato."

Seems frivolous, you think? Not so.
"The world's population is growing and must be fed," reads the U.N. resolution, its content fed by researchers who have scoured the planet for suitable plant life. "Millions of people go hungry now," the declaration continues. "Yet somehow food supplies must be found to supply the future increase in population."

So with all those legalese terms aside -- like "noting, desiring, recognizing, affirming" -- it comes down to finding the most nourishing and easiest-to-grow plant food for nurturing the world's disadvantaged. A SACRED CROP

"Potatoes are considered a sacred crop in Peru -- with all kinds of myths circulating about them," explained Peruvian-born author Karissa Silva at a seminar sponsored by the U.S. Potato Board in the Food Network's Test Kitchens in lower Manhattan.

As a chef, food stylist, United Nations/Mission of Peru representative and consultant for the International Potato Center, Ms. Silva's aim is to promote Peruvian gastronomy and traditions.
"Potatoes have been grown in Peru and Bolivia for 8,000 years, and they still are planted by farmers there." While few Americans realize it, she noted, "There are 3,000 varieties of potatoes." WHY SO PRECIOUS?

So this is it: Since the potato ranks among the most nutrient-dense vegetable, can be grown easily, quickly and in almost any climate and soil -- regardless of how barren -- agriculturists consider it a natural for succeeding where other crops have failed in overcoming hunger everywhere.
Rich in protein, calcium and vitamin C, potatoes are known for their efficient amino acid balance. They actually can supply about half the daily adult requirement of vitamin C.

As a bonus for a community short on foodstuffs, farmers in the tropics can harvest potatoes within 50 days of planting -- a third of the time it takes to grow them in colder climes. Yet even elsewhere, it's an easy to grow and harvest item. Another remarkable feat is that 85 percent of the plant is edible -- a definite coup. LONG-LASTING CROP

"Farmers can plant many kinds of potatoes to preserve a variety of potato seeds," noted Ms. Silva, an expert on Peruvian agriculture. "For us, potatoes are beyond just being food; they are part of life.
The author of "Cebiches from Peru, "Flavors of Peru: Quinoa, Potato, Corn, Ajies" and "Fruits and Regional Food of Peru," Ms. Silva also developed the brand "Peru, Mucho gusto" to promote Peruvian gastronomy.”The International Year of the Potato is important for Peru, for the world," she said. "We want to raise awareness (of its value), help fight hunger and improve nutrition with only a few calories.
"Potatoes can be preserved, freeze dried using ancient techniques -- frozen at night and defrosted in the sunshine," she explained. Passing around a sample of dried potatoes -- looking very much like dried bits of fruit -- she noted that they had been preserved following classic Peruvian methods that have been in use for centuries. "They will keep forever in that preserved state," Ms. Silva noted. ANCIENT HISTORY

A New World commodity, potatoes now are part of the food culture in nations around the world.
After discovering them in the foothills of the Andes, Spanish explorers are credited with taking the tubers back to Europe where they eventually adapted to the climate and, in time, became a staple of the diet. Today, even Asian and Indian cooks treasure their spud-based specialties.
Peru and the Andes today remain the prime source for producing scores of potato types -- varieties that can be grown even on marginal farmland and in areas unsuitable for cultivating other crops. So, it's not surprising that the initiative for giving the potato such lofty status, according to U.N. reports, originated with the Peruvian Embassy and the permanent representative to FAO in Rome, Italy. PROMOTING RESEARCH

The mission of the International Year of the Potato is to alleviate poverty and to focus world attention on the role the potato can play in providing food security. Eventually the program will branch out, according to the edict, "to promote research and development of potato-based systems."
"For poor potato farmers in developing countries, improving yields is essential to their ability to achieve economic independence," according to the resolution. NUTRITION IN SCHOOLS

For its part, the U.S. Potato Board (USPB), an organization representing over 4,000 potato growers and handlers, will continue its role in supporting nutrition education in schools. Its newest educational initiative -- in line with the United Nations' decree -- will be to team up with the School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) of the School Nutrition Association to launch its first-ever School Wellness Grant Program.

Ten grants of $2,500 each will be awarded to public elementary schools in the United States for equipment and/or educational programs to "help move children toward healthier diets and improve their overall wellness," according to 20-year industry veteran Linda McCashion, a USPB vice president who represented the organization at the seminar.

With childhood obesity at epidemic proportions, many school nutrition programs are searching for healthful vegetables their students will eat. "We need more partners like America's potato farmers, who provide the extra assistance schools need to serve healthy meals kids will enjoy during the school year," said Ruth Jonen, school nutrition specialist and SNF president.

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