10/09/07 Potato innovations

In a day and age when consumers want convenience potato sales are slacking off. WYSOCKI "While we're a staple type of crop we also need to address the convenience part." That's Wisconsin potato farmer Jim Wysocki who is president of the US Potato Board. You may have seen one of the new ways that the potato industry is addressing the convenience issue, the shrink wrapped baking product. WYSOCKI "What we're doing is taking a restaurant sized baking potato and we're putting it in a shrink wrap film that's microwave ready as is. Its been double washed, you take it directly to the microwave and in six to eight minutes of microwaving you will get a potato out that will not only be cooked on the inside but it will be steam cooked on the peel on the outside. And we've taken that one step further where we actually put it inside a boat with the utensils and the condiments and everything to go with it so you can stop at a grocery store and pick up a small package and have a meal for under three bucks." Microwavable potato products offer convenience too whether its French fries, potato sticks, has browns or nuggets. Those products were designed to give consumers a quick and easy snack or side dish. The US Potato Board says innovation products can put potatoes back on the dinner plates of one or two person households and that could bring profits to Idaho and other US growers. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott