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Winnipeg Free Press
24-07-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ottawa, province tab $6M for 19 Manitoba food-sector firms
BRANDON — The Maple Leaf Foods plant in Brandon will seek to upgrade its equipment and increase efficiency after the Manitoba government announced $6 million in funding for processing facilities across the province. 'It is uncertain times. We need strong farms and we need good, strong food processors,' Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn said at a news conference on Wednesday. The $6 million will be split between 19 companies — including meat processing, agriculture, dairy and brewing — with more than $1 million going to Maple Leaf and $2.5 million to the McCain Foods production plant in Carberry. Tim Smith / Brandon Sun Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn speaks with Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard (from left), director of operations for Canada Packers Inc. Rob Ackerblade and Maple Leaf Foods plant manager Jim Brown standing by in Brandon Wednesday. The federal government is covering 60 per cent of the funding, with the province putting in the rest, Kostyshyn said. 'The funding helps them buy equipment and invest in new technologies,' the NDP MLA for Dauphin said. 'We're here to help them grow and be competitive as we find new and emerging markets around the world.' Kostyshyn said the aim is to keep Manitoba connected in interprovincial trade, as tariffs from the United States and China make international trade more difficult. 'The reality is starting to set in … we need to become creative in our own opportunities of building from start to finish a finished product and marketing throughout the world and through Canada and Manitoba.' Kathleen Sullivan, Maple Leaf Foods vice-president of government and industry relations, said the upgrade will not only help the Brandon plant but the entire provincial economy. 'It's more product coming out that can be sold and it also means that more hogs come into the plant,' she said. 'That means we need to grow more hogs here in Manitoba. 'I think it's clear to everyone in the industry that we need to be ensuring we have maximum productivity, we are utilizing our capacity,' Sullivan said. 'We have product to sell to Canadians, but also to other countries around the world.' She said the money Maple Leaf receives will be spent on upgrading split saws, which cut pig carcasses, to improve speed, efficiency and limit waste. Rob Ackerblade, director of operations for Canada Packers Inc., which shares the Maple Leaf building in Brandon, said the plant processes about 16,000 pigs per day. He said the company is 'very thankful' for the support of both levels of government. 'The investment you're announcing today will help us modernize the facility with state-of-the-art equipment that will help us improve reliability, efficiency and production quality.' Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard said combating foreign tariffs by helping local businesses is important. 'We need to make sure that as we create these new opportunities, we need to create more capacity,' said Simard (Brandon East). 'We need to make sure that as new markets emerge that rural Manitobans benefit and that agricultural producers benefit.' He said the 19 companies — some of which are small and family-owned — are an important part of Manitoba's ag sector. 'They support jobs in their communities, help support jobs for agricultural producers who supply them to Manitoba and the world.' The $2.5 million for McCain Foods' Carberry plant will be used to install new freezers and refrigeration equipment, increasing potato processing capacity by 12 per cent, according to a government handout. — Brandon Sun
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Spud-tacular: How India became a french fry superpower
French fries turned around the fortunes of Jitesh Patel. He comes from a family of farmers in Gujarat in the northwest of India. Traditionally they grew cotton, but the returns were poor. Droughts in 2001 and 2002 made the situation worse and the Patels knew things had to change. "We realised that we had to start growing something that does not require lot of water," Mr Patel says. So, they experimented with potatoes. Initially they tried table potatoes; the kind available in local markets and cooked at home, but the returns weren't much better than cotton. Spurred by the arrival of french fry makers in their state, in 2007 they started growing the varieties of potato used by the food industry. It turned out to be a winning strategy. "Since then, no looking back," says Mr Patel. Mr Patel is part of India's rise to potato superpower status. It is already the world's second biggest spud producer. But it's the export market, particularly of french fries, that's really flying. Gujarat has become India's capital of french fry production, home to huge factories churning out chips, including facilities belonging to Canadian giant McCain Foods and India's biggest maker of French Fries, HyFun Foods. From Gujarat fries are sent all over over the world. But the most important markets at the moment are in Asia, including the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia, according to Devendra K, who has been studying the potato market for many years. In February of this year, monthly exports of Indian frozen fries broke the 20,000 tonnes barrier for the first time. In the year to February, India's fry exports totalled 181,773 tonnes, a 45% increase compared with the previous year. The success is partly down to price. "Indian frozen fries are noted for being competitively priced in the international market," says Devendra. He says that in 2024, the average price of Indian fries was even cheaper than those from China. For the french fry makers, it's boom time. "India has emerged as a significant player and exporter due to its abundant agricultural produce, cost-effective manufacturing, and growing focus on quality standards," says Haresh Karamchandani, CEO of HyFun Foods. HyFun has seven plants processing potatoes in Gujarat with another two coming online by 2026. "Urbanisation, increasing disposable incomes and changing lifestyles have promoted the consumption of frozen foods, not only in the household but also in food service establishments," says Mr Karamchandani. Meeting that demand has required decades of innovation from farmers. Jitesh Patel studied agriculture at university and has been applying science to farming ever since. Along with friends and family they are continuously trying to improve their potato yield. "We are a well educated bunch of farmers, so we keep trying new methods," he says. One of their first innovations, back in 2003, was to switch to a drip system of irrigation, rather than flooding fields with water. To keep the soil productive the fields are rested over the summer, and fertilised with cow manure. Their focus now is finding the perfect potato plant. "We are in the process of experimenting with seeds and soon we will have a new variety," he says. Jain Irrigation Systems is a large agricultural technology company. As well as selling irrigation equipment, it has teams of technicians developing seeds for agriculture, including potato plants. They use a set of techniques known as tissue culture. It's a way of cloning plants, with desirable traits and eliminating disease. It involves growing small pieces of plant tissue in a controlled laboratory environment to create virus-free plantlets. These plantlets can then be used to produce more seed potatoes through methods like taking cuttings. "Potato seeds destined for future seed production undergo meticulous breeding practices under the supervision of breeders," says Vijay Singh, vice president of marketing at the company. One issue they are tackling at the moment concerns a variety of potatoes used to make chips. Farmers found that by November the potato crop starts to go brown because of its sugar content. "Companies like us who are into tissue culture are trying to come up with a new variety to overcome the challenges that the industry is facing," says Mr Singh. While Indian farmers are working on improving their yields, investment is needed elsewhere in the frozen food industry. In particular, firms need to be able to store and transport goods at sub-zero temperatures. Modern cold storage facilities have been built, but more are needed. "Only about 10–15% of India's cold storage facilities are suitable for storing frozen foods," says Vijay Kumar Nayak, co-founder of Indo Agri Foods, an exporter of Indian food. "These facilities are unevenly distributed, heavily concentrated in a few states, leaving rural and remote regions severely underserved. Transportation is a problem as well. "There is a notable shortage of specialised refrigerated trucks and containers, making temperature-controlled transportation extremely difficult and increasing the risk of spoilage," he says. A reliable electricity supply is also essential. "Frequent power outages in many parts of the country increase the chances of spoilage and make running a reliable frozen food supply chain a daunting task," says Mr Nayak. "Indian companies face intense competition in export markets from countries like China, Thailand and Brazil. These nations benefit from more advanced logistics, infrastructure, and production systems," he points out. Back at his Gujarat farm Mr Patel is happy that the chip makers moved in. "Gujarat has become a food processing hub. Most of the farmers, including me, have become contract farmers which gives us security and good money for our yield," he says. 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BBC News
17-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Spud-tacular: How India became a french fry superpower
French fries turned around the fortunes of Jitesh comes from a family of farmers in Gujarat in the northwest of India. Traditionally they grew cotton, but the returns were poor. Droughts in 2001 and 2002 made the situation worse and the Patels knew things had to change. "We realised that we had to start growing something that does not require lot of water," Mr Patel they experimented with potatoes. Initially they tried table potatoes; the kind available in local markets and cooked at home, but the returns weren't much better than by the arrival of french fry makers in their state, in 2007 they started growing the varieties of potato used by the food industry. It turned out to be a winning strategy."Since then, no looking back," says Mr Patel. Mr Patel is part of India's rise to potato superpower status. It is already the world's second biggest spud it's the export market, particularly of french fries, that's really flying. Gujarat has become India's capital of french fry production, home to huge factories churning out chips, including facilities belonging to Canadian giant McCain Foods and India's biggest maker of French Fries, HyFun Gujarat fries are sent all over over the world. But the most important markets at the moment are in Asia, including the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia, according to Devendra K, who has been studying the potato market for many years. In February of this year, monthly exports of Indian frozen fries broke the 20,000 tonnes barrier for the first time. In the year to February, India's fry exports totalled 181,773 tonnes, a 45% increase compared with the previous success is partly down to price."Indian frozen fries are noted for being competitively priced in the international market," says Devendra. He says that in 2024, the average price of Indian fries was even cheaper than those from China. For the french fry makers, it's boom time."India has emerged as a significant player and exporter due to its abundant agricultural produce, cost-effective manufacturing, and growing focus on quality standards," says Haresh Karamchandani, CEO of HyFun has seven plants processing potatoes in Gujarat with another two coming online by 2026."Urbanisation, increasing disposable incomes and changing lifestyles have promoted the consumption of frozen foods, not only in the household but also in food service establishments," says Mr Karamchandani. Meeting that demand has required decades of innovation from Patel studied agriculture at university and has been applying science to farming ever since. Along with friends and family they are continuously trying to improve their potato yield."We are a well educated bunch of farmers, so we keep trying new methods," he of their first innovations, back in 2003, was to switch to a drip system of irrigation, rather than flooding fields with keep the soil productive the fields are rested over the summer, and fertilised with cow focus now is finding the perfect potato plant."We are in the process of experimenting with seeds and soon we will have a new variety," he says. Jain Irrigation Systems is a large agricultural technology company. As well as selling irrigation equipment, it has teams of technicians developing seeds for agriculture, including potato use a set of techniques known as tissue culture. It's a way of cloning plants, with desirable traits and eliminating disease. It involves growing small pieces of plant tissue in a controlled laboratory environment to create virus-free plantlets. These plantlets can then be used to produce more seed potatoes through methods like taking cuttings."Potato seeds destined for future seed production undergo meticulous breeding practices under the supervision of breeders," says Vijay Singh, vice president of marketing at the issue they are tackling at the moment concerns a variety of potatoes used to make chips. Farmers found that by November the potato crop starts to go brown because of its sugar content. "Companies like us who are into tissue culture are trying to come up with a new variety to overcome the challenges that the industry is facing," says Mr Singh. While Indian farmers are working on improving their yields, investment is needed elsewhere in the frozen food particular, firms need to be able to store and transport goods at sub-zero cold storage facilities have been built, but more are needed."Only about 10–15% of India's cold storage facilities are suitable for storing frozen foods," says Vijay Kumar Nayak, co-founder of Indo Agri Foods, an exporter of Indian food. "These facilities are unevenly distributed, heavily concentrated in a few states, leaving rural and remote regions severely is a problem as well. "There is a notable shortage of specialised refrigerated trucks and containers, making temperature-controlled transportation extremely difficult and increasing the risk of spoilage," he says. A reliable electricity supply is also essential."Frequent power outages in many parts of the country increase the chances of spoilage and make running a reliable frozen food supply chain a daunting task," says Mr Nayak."Indian companies face intense competition in export markets from countries like China, Thailand and Brazil. These nations benefit from more advanced logistics, infrastructure, and production systems," he points out. Back at his Gujarat farm Mr Patel is happy that the chip makers moved in. "Gujarat has become a food processing hub. Most of the farmers, including me, have become contract farmers which gives us security and good money for our yield," he says.
Newsweek
11-07-2025
- General
- Newsweek
Map Shows Each State's Favorite French Fry
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Today marks National French Fry Day in the United States—and while there is universal love for the crispy, salty delicacy, some states have a chip on their shoulder about the best type of fry. Research from McCain Foods and Talker Research has revealed the favored fry by state and unveiled which one is the most popular overall. The Context The holiday used to be observed on July 13, but fast-food chain Checkers & Rally's organized an online petition in 2022 for the second Friday in July to be the national fry-day. A picture of McDonald's French fries taken on June 8, 2024, in Bangkok, Thailand. A picture of McDonald's French fries taken on June 8, 2024, in Bangkok, To Know The research, commissioned by McCain Foods and conducted by Talker Research, polled 5,000 U.S. adults on their thoughts and feelings when it comes to fries. The study found that, on average, a single American can eat at least 17 pounds worth of small servings of fries per year. Nationwide, that equates to Americans eating a minimum of 5,61 billion pounds of fries each year. So, how did the preferences vary by state? Straight and seasoned came out on top and was the preference in 28 states. The rest of the nation was split between shoestring fries, curly fries and crinkle-cut fries. Colorado was the only state where waffle fries were the most popular. Newsweek spoke to Chef Mark Slutzky, director of culinary at McCain Foods, about the study and the different preferences in fries across the country. "Fry styles often tie into regional identity and nostalgia, and personal preferences are shaped by the restaurants you grew up with and the type of fries they used," he said. "In the Midwest, certain fried chicken restaurants are known for their crinkle-cut fries, for example, as are Chicago hot dog stands. Shoestring fries are more associated with burger chains that are popular in the Northeast. And in Colorado, where there are a lot of brew pubs, waffle fries top the list, which are perfect for piling high for cowboy nachos or other loaded fry creations," he added. As for the top seasonings and dips? Salt, garlic powder and Parmesan were the sprinklings of preference, while ketchup and ranch and cheese sauces came out on top for other condiments, according to the study. What People Are Saying Chef Mark Slutzky, director of culinary at McCain Foods, told Newsweek over email: "Local dishes can also play a role in the type of fry you gravitate toward. For example, shoestring fries are popular in Detroit, which is known for its chili cheese fries. On the West Coast, straight-and-seasoned fries are perfect for dishes like California burritos and carne asada fries. Everyone has their favorite type of fry but, preferences aside, French fries are the ultimate crowd-pleaser. Few things bring people together like a plate of crispy, golden fries." What Happens Next The study found that a total of 77 percent of people were likely to share their fries with others, and 83 percent would share their last fry with someone that they love.
New York Post
08-07-2025
- General
- New York Post
Residents in these states each at least 20 pounds of french fries per year, study reveals
Virginia is for fry lovers, according to a new study. The poll of 5,000 U.S. adults found the average person of the 'Old Dominion' self-reported eating at least 21 pounds of spuds, closely followed by three other heavy-hitting states: Alabama, Georgia, and Maryland, all with the average person eating about 20 pounds per year. On average, a single American can eat at least 17 pounds of a small serving (69 grams) of fries per year. Expanded to the entire nation, that means America eats a minimum of 5,610,000,000 pounds of the stuff, as much as 155,833 school buses. Ahead of National French Fry Day on July 11 and commissioned by McCain Foods, the study conducted by Talker Research revealed variances for one of America's favorite foods. 7 The poll of 5,000 U.S. adults found the average person of the 'Old Dominion' self-reported eating at least 21 pounds of spuds, closely followed by three other heavy-hitting states: Alabama, Georgia, and Maryland. exclusive-design – While all states can agree that the 'best' fries are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside (72%), there are more debates about what type of fry and what seasonings and sauces are best. Twenty-eight states agreed that straight-and-seasoned fries were top-tier, most popular in North Dakota (55%), Mississippi (54%), Alabama (49%), Wyoming (49%), Louisiana (48%), and Utah (48%). However, the rest of the nation had varied views on which fry was best. Classic shoestring fries were most popular in Hawaii (45%), New Hampshire (45%), Michigan (44%), Maine (42%), and Texas (42%). 7 On average, a single American can eat at least 17 pounds of a small serving of fries per year. Urooj – Curly fries reigned supreme in Alaska (46%), Kansas (46%), Connecticut (45%), and Oklahoma (45%). Crinkle-cut fries earned top scores in states like Nebraska (51%), Kentucky (46%), and Pennsylvania (43%). Crinkle-cut was also the most popular style of fry in Illinois (41%). And waffle fries only got love in one state: Colorado (44%). And no matter what specific type they prefer, two coastal powerhouses were also most likely to experience happiness or joy while eating fries: California (59%) and New York (58%). 7 Curly fries reigned supreme in Alaska, Kansas, Connecticut, and Oklahoma. SWNS Some Americans even have 'hometown heroes,' or classic fry dishes that hail from their own backyards. New Yorkers and New Jerseyans are proud to be the home of 'disco fries,' while 'boardwalk fries' are a Delaware staple. Those in Illinois enjoy 'horseshoe' or 'ponyshoe sandwiches,' and Californians proudly boast their namesake: the 'California burrito.' 'Fries are universally loved, but there's still plenty of debate when it comes to favorites,' said Tracy Hostetler, vice president of marketing, North America potatoes at McCain Foods. 7 Classic shoestring fries were most popular in Hawaii, New Hampshire, Michigan, Maine, and Texas, according to the survey. InversedSlayer – 'From crinkle-cut and curly, to waffle and seasoned fries, everyone has their go-to style. We believe enjoying a variety of fries allows everyone to find their favorite.' Despite the friendly disputes on which fry is best, the study found a number of things Americans can agree on when it comes to the world of fries. Nearly two in three (63%) agreed fries can be considered a main dish, not just a side. According to them, fries shine as mains in dishes like 'loaded' fries (66%), chili fries (36%), and topped with various seasonings (36%). Top seasonings ranged from the classic salt (77%) and garlic powder (31%) to the less orthodox — parmesan (22%), Old Bay (19%), paprika (10%), and cayenne (9%). Top dips were classics as well: ketchup (68%), ranch (33%), and cheese sauce (28%). 7 And waffle fries only got love in one state: Colorado, according to the survey. Christian – Over three-quarters (77%) also agreed they'd share their fries if they were eating with a group of people, being most likely to share with their partner (43%), kids (28%), and friends (21%). However, 65% admit they'd stolen fries from someone else's plate. Eighty-one percent believe fries can even make meals more enjoyable with their family, and 83% said they'd even be willing to share their last fry with someone they love. 7 Nearly two in three (63%) agreed fries can be considered a main dish, not just a side. taffpixture – 'Preferences aside, it's clear that fries hold a special place in people's hearts across the nation,' continued Tracy Hostetler. 'They're the ultimate shareable food — whether enjoying family-style or sneaking one off someone else's plate, fries have a way of bringing family and friends together through that simple, joyful act of sharing.' We asked respondents what 'fry' dish their hometown is known for. Here's what some shared: Boardwalk fries California burrito Carne asada fries Catfish and fries Chili cheese fries 7 'From crinkle-cut and curly, to waffle and seasoned fries, everyone has their go-to style. We believe enjoying a variety of fries allows everyone to find their favorite,' said Tracy Hostetler, vice president of marketing, North America potatoes at McCain Foods. exclusive-design – Disco fries Fish n chips Garbage plate Horseshoe/Ponyshoe sandwich Poutine Survey methodology: Talker Research surveyed 5,000 American adults, with 100 from each state; the survey was commissioned by McCain Foods and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between May 28 and June 5, 2025.
