GUEST COLUMN


FACING FUTURE CHALLENGES F


orward-thinking potato processors focus on improving their operations and creating competitive advantages.


They constantly consider the challenges they face


and search for solutions because the quicker a company successfully transforms threats into opportunities, the further ahead they pull from their competition and the more lucrative the outcome. Here I will highlight several current threats to the


potato processing industry and suggest some opportunities inherent in those threats. Recognising that we don’t currently have all the answers, I want to encourage the development of creative new solutions. Although most government agencies have stopped


being scrutinised. Processors are modifying the process parameters of the fryer and new processing techniques are being developed. While these solutions hold the promise of reducing acrylamide levels, they also have the potential of reducing energy costs, both of which make good business sense. For potato chip processors with sorters inspecting


final product quality prior to packaging, another acrylamide-fighting tool is available. Many modern sorters can be programmed to remove potato chips with certain discolouration characteristics that have been associated with acrylamide content, in addition to continuing to remove other defects and foreign


short of concluding that acrylamide causes cancer in humans, the evidence that suggests such a link is mounting, and the public’s concern is growing. Potato processors wishing to limit their exposure to future lawsuits, or those that want to differentiate their products from the competition, are looking to reduce acrylamide levels in the products they produce. Acrylamide occurs naturally during the cooking of potato chips


and French fries and other processed foods. Levels rise as the food is heated for longer periods at temperatures above 120C (248F). Potato chip manufacturers have the opportunity to affect acrylamide levels by changing their processes. French fry manufacturers must consider how raw potato qualities and their process might affect acrylamide levels after customers bake or fry their products in a restaurant or at home. At leading potato chip plants, changes in the frying process are


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KEY Technology’s Tim Reardon gives his view on the year ahead.


material (FM). For French fry manufacturers, the path to acrylamide


reduction is less clear since potato strips are par fried at the factory, and there will likely be little gained by


changing that thermal process. Instead, leading French fry manufacturers are focusing research on developing agents and processes that inhibits their products from forming acrylamide later, when restaurants or consumers fry or bake the strips. One possible solution is to dip strips into a chemical that converts asparagine into a substance that doesn’t produce acrylamide. Both potato chip and strip processors are also looking at


reducing the glucose and asparagine levels of their products since acrylamide is produced by the reaction between asparagine and glucose. Efforts are being taken to select potato varieties that are naturally low in glucose and asparagine and to fine-tune potato storage conditions to reduce glucose levels. Acrylamide aside, consumers’ increasing attention on healthy


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