Surfing the British Potato CULTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY Promotional activities start with children When it comes to potato promotion Great Britain is very active, they spend a lot of money and they travel a great deal further than many other European countries, including the Netherlands. This is most certainly what we experienced at the British Potato happening. For example, the Potato Council stand was completely fitted out as an example of how and with what materials they provide information about potatoes at British schools. In the past year, they have introduced a special programme ‘Grow Your Own Potatoes‘, whereby eleven year-old schoolchildren were taught how to grow their own potatoes in pots. In this way, the children experience for themselves how potatoes grow and learn that a food crop such as potatoes does not grow by itself. With this campaign, the promoters are reaching 375,000 children. In addition, the children are also getting information about the nutritional value of the potato and its role in their daily diet. Alongside this information campaign, the British growers started the Supercarb campaign in October, in which they tell what important nutrients the potato contains and the difference with foods such as rice and pasta. All facts and figures have been conveniently compiled into a small booklet ‘Potatoes: The Facts’. This booklet will be distributed with the produce in supermarkets and will thus reach the British consumer. Another special event is the National Chip Week, the week of the chip, which is planned for the week of 15 to 21 February. The initiators at the Potato Council hope that this initiative will lead to record sales of chip potatoes in the United Kingdom. Climax roller lane interests the British How differently the British sometimes cultivate, store and process their potatoes, is also experienced by the Dutch machinery manufacturers. For example, Climax has been producing box fillers for years whereby the boxes slide over a roller lane. Most of the competition usually work with a tipping system or a ‘nodding’ belt. According tot the Climax people, the British growers are not overly keen on that. Especially when working with varying box sizes, farmers sometimes encounter problems where tipping/nodding systems are concerned. The Climax box fillers do not have that problem, because every box fits onto it. Moreover, this box filler has a high capacity and is not prone to failures, according to the Dutch manufacturer. ● Leo Hanse and Jaap Delleman Potato World 2010 • number 2 23 Pagina 22
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