First Coast News

Jun. 16, 2005

from Science Daily
Tuesday, June 8, 2004

Gainesville, FL -- Potatoes may be on the no-no list for high-protein diets, but a University of Florida researcher says a new low-carb potato will help win back die-hard carbohydrate counters.

"Consumers are going to love the flavor and appearance of this potato and the fact that it has 30 percent fewer carbohydrates compared to a standard Russet baking potato," said Chad Hutchinson, an assistant professor of horticulture with UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

"The potato doesn't look or taste like anything that's now on the market, and it's not a genetically engineered crop," Hutchinson said. "When it comes to beautiful potatoes, this one is a real winner for growers and consumers."

Hutchinson, a potato expert, said five seasons of evaluation in his research program at UF show the tuber can handle Florida weather extremes and is ready to be marketed as a premium, gourmet potato. UF is the first test site in the United States for the European import, which was developed by HZPC, a seed company based in the Netherlands.

Available to consumers in January 2005, the new spud will be marketed under a yet-to-be determined name, and it is expected to be a boon for Florida's $120 million potato industry.

Hutchinson said 3 1/2 ounces of the new potato contain about 13 grams of carbohydrate compared to around 19 grams in the same size serving of a Russet Burbank potato.

"Although potatoes are not part of the Atkins diet, the fact of the matter is that potatoes contain no fat, and they are a good source of fiber, protein and vitamins. They have vitamin C and B-6, and they are low in sodium and high in potassium. And, potato skins are an excellent source of fiber," Hutchinson said.

Independent research in Canada confirmed the spud's low-carbohydrate profile. Hutchinson said it is due in part to the lower specific gravity, which relates to the amount of starch in the potato, compared to the more widely recognized Russet Burbank baking potato. "The smooth, buff-colored skin and light yellow flesh will make this potato an attractive and tasty alternative in many traditional potato recipes," he said.

To prepare for what they hope will be a surge in potato consumption by consumers and food processors, Florida potato growers have formed the SunFresh of Florida Marketing Cooperative.

Wayne Smith, president of the cooperative in Hastings, said commercial growers will plant their first crop in September for a January harvest, and the potato can be grown throughout Florida's potato-growing areas. Markets for the Florida tubers include the U.S. Northeast and Canada.

Don Northcott, marketing manager for HZPC Americas Corp. on Prince Edward Island, Canada, said the new variety grows in a short period of time. The potato can be harvested in 65 to 75 days compared to more than 100 days for existing potato varieties grown in Florida. The shorter growing period will allow spring and fall crops to be produced for harvesting from January through June.

"The variety has high tolerance to environmental stresses like high temperatures or dry weather. In fact, under warm-weather conditions, this variety develops an extremely attractive appearance in terms of brightness of skin and smooth appearance," Northcott said.

He said the potato skin develops early, which enhances resistance to mechanical damage so the potatoes can arrive on store shelves with minimal defects. The variety has some resistance to tuber greening, which increases store shelf life.

"The combination of good Florida soils, warm temperatures and the experience of Florida producers sets the stage for delivery of a fresh potato flavor treat for consumers in northern areas of the U.S. as well as Canadian consumers," Northcott said. "We are looking forward to the first crop of fresh, low-carb potatoes from Florida this coming January."

from CNN.com
Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Spuds, FL (AP) -- For dieters, potatoes have been scorned, rejected and castigated -- the Rodney Dangerfield of vegetables, they get no respect.

Many weight-loss programs, including the Atkins and the South Beach diets, advocate meat and cheese over high-carbohydrate potatoes, pasta and bread.

Come January, carb-counters who love potatoes may find cause to rejoice a bit. Florida growers will be pitching a potato they hope will be a hot one -- it claims one-third fewer carbs than the ordinary spud.

"Consumers are going to love the flavor and appearance of this potato and the fact that it has 30 percent fewer carbohydrates compared to a standard Russet baking potato," said Chad Hutchinson, an assistant professor of horticulture at University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

After five years of testing in the sandy soils near here in the heart of Florida's potato country, Hutchinson knew it tasted great, had a shorter growing cycle, was disease-resistant and able to handle Florida's extreme weather. He then learned about its lower-carb properties.

"That was just gravy," he said.

Independent research shows about 31/2 ounces of the new potato contain about 13 grams of carbohydrate compared to around 19 grams in the same size serving of a Russet Burbank.

The new baseball-size potato will be available in supermarkets and restaurants in January.

Florida is the first test site in the United States for the European import, which was developed by HZPC, a seed company based in the Netherlands. The potato was developed by crossbreeding and was not genetically modified.

Five Florida potato growers have formed the SunFresh Marketing Cooperative to the grow and promote the new spud, said Jim McDowell, the sales and marketing director for the cooperative.

The cooperative hasn't said what the new potato will cost.

"We're pretty excited about it," said McDowell, noting that farmers decided to grow it before learning they had a low-carb benefit.

"I think low-carb is here to stay," McDowell said. "But you do need some carbohydrates in your diet."

The growers also want to market the potato as a "fresh" vegetable with a brand name and a logo, so shoppers will ask for it in their grocery store.

"A potato that is freshly dug tastes different than a potato dug eight or nine months ago and put in storage," Hutchinson said.

The way Hutchinson sees it, potatoes get no respect.

"When you go into a grocery store today and you look for potatoes, you don't know what you are buying, how long it has been in storage, where it came from," said Hutchinson, who said some potatoes have been in storage for up to a year before they hit the grocer's shelves.

"We want the public to be able to recognize they have a choice and they should be asking for a fresh product, just on the taste alone."

Promoting Potatoes

Potatoes contribute about $120 million a year to Florida's economy. The state supplies about 60 percent of the country's fresh potato market from January to June, Hutchinson said.

"We do not store potatoes," he added.

Linda McCashion, who represents the National Potato Promotion Board, which has launched a $4.5 million campaign marketing the spud's nutritional value, said the board is pleased there are new varieties being developed.

She noted that an average potato contains only 100 calories, has no fat, is low in sodium and high in potassium, plus has some dietary fiber. It also has vitamins C and B-6.

Colette Heimowitz of the Atkins Health & Medical Information Services, said potatoes are not recommended until a dieter reaches a goal weight.

"Once they achieve their weight loss, it is fine," she said, noting the same carbohydrate reduction offered by the new potato could be accomplished by eating a third less of a regular potato.

Don Northcott, marketing manager for HZPC Americas Corp. on Prince Edward Island, Canada, is enthusiastic.

"The combination of good Florida soils, warm temperatures and the experience of Florida producers sets the stage for delivery of a fresh potato flavor treat," Northcott said.

from UF News
Saturday, June 5, 2004

from MSNBC
Sunday, June 13, 2004

This spud was bred for taste, but in the Atkins era, carb-cutting counts. This new variety of potato -- yet to be named -- was found to have about 30 percent fewer carbs than the high-starch Russet Burbank. But will consumers bite?

Growers in Florida, helped by state agricultural researchers, have licensed a new variety with only about 70 percent of the carbohydrates found in the Russet Burbank, the beloved and iconic coarse brown variety used for baked potatoes and for much of the nation’s fries. A 3.5-ounce serving has some 13 grams of carbs; the Russet has 19. Not quite low-carb, but a bit less.

But its backers -- though they certainly aren’t shying away from the purchasing power of the low-carb consumer -- refuse to put all their, well, potatoes in one basket.

“Low carb may get people to try it initially, but I think once they try it they’ll come back because of the taste,” said Jim McDowell, director of sales and marketing for the SunFresh cooperative, a group of five Florida farmers who will grow the newfangled spud.

Before anyone gets too worked up, let’s delineate potato from potato.  The most popular variety, accounting for well over 60 percent of U.S. potatoes, Russets are primarily grown for baking and frying. They’re a far cry from something like round white or red potatoes, which are the sort of thing you’d use to boil up or mash -- or new potatoes, which are young enough that their starch hasn’t fully developed and their flesh is more vegetal.

Those latter types have less starch and more water than something like the Russet Burbank, whose high-starch development has been tailored to make terrific fries.  And this lower-carb variety will work along the same lines.  Part of it can be attributed to a lower specific gravity -- its starch-to-water ratio -- than the Russet, but its developers admit they’re somewhat stumped as to what exactly causes the lower starch content.

The smaller carb count may be good for marketing, but this particular tater was born out of Florida farmers’ hunt for a premium potato they could sell at higher prices to picky shoppers.

States like Idaho and Washington have captured the largest chunk of the nation’s potato production, though Florida accounts for 2 percent, according to the 2002 agricultural census. That’s a $130 million per year industry.

“When you think of Florida, you shouldn’t just think of sunshine and beaches and Walt Disney World,” said Chad Hutchinson, an assistant professor at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences who specializes in potato research.

Hutchinson discovered this new breed’s carb-conscious properties while working with SunFresh farmers to find new varieties that would flourish in Florida's winter and spring, when warm temperatures would give the state an advantage marketing fresh potatoes to East Coasters forced to endure stored potatoes from -- shudder -- the West Coast.

But the potato itself was developed through careful cross-breeding by Dutch firm HZPC, which licensed the spud to the Florida group. The firm has created between 200 and 300 types of potato.

As with pharmaceuticals, this is not a quick process, or a cheap one.  The development cycle for a new potato can be 8 to 12 years, and cost $1.5 million, according to Don Northcott, marketing manager for HZPC Americas.  The lower-carb variety began its life in Holland in the mid 1990s, was brought over in a test tube and spent a year in quarantine. Then it became one of many varieties Hutchinson and the Florida researchers tried out.

While HZPC sells its share of Russets, it’s looking for the same thing as the Florida growers: a spud that earns its keep.  That’s a concern for all potato farmers.  Consumption of potatoes doesn’t seem to have budged as Americans have come to curse carbs: projected annual consumption was up slightly in 2003 to 137.1 pounds per person. But prices have tumbled, down 14 percent since mid-2003. And most spud growers -- the Florida folks a possible exception -- are hoping this low-carb craze, too, shall pass. Either way, the hope is that a less starchy potato might lure consumers willing to pay a bit more for something unique

“You’re walking through the produce section … you’ve got beautiful produce coming from all over the world,” says Northcott. “For a potato to be there, we have to be equally as bright, equally inviting.”

Some tater types aren’t so convinced. “I’ll be as interested as anyone else to see how it does,” says Frank Muir, executive director of the Idaho Potato Commission.

Muir hasn’t had a chance to evaluate it in the flesh, but he and his nutritionists have been peering at photos of the new spud. They wonder how it will cook given the lower starch content. Will it make for dry baked or mushy mashed?

“If it is a different texture and it tastes different, no one’s going to eat it,” Muir said. “We’d all eat Brussels sprouts if it tasted like chocolates.”

Not surprisingly, all the low-carb hubbub has Muir, who runs three miles a day, miffed. Rather than hunt down a potato with less starch, he suggests we all might do better if we got more exercise, ate fewer calories and enjoyed, say, the occasional potato.  “We’d rather take a magic pill,” he said.

Like the potato industry, nutritionists generally note potatoes themselves have plenty to recommend them: no fat (until they’re fried), almost no sodium, lots of vitamin C and potassium. What becomes trickier is how people eat them, and whether they pile on all that sour cream. And butter. And chili. And cheese.

Calorie counts still are inescapable. The new spuds may be fine, but not as an addition to a calorie-packed, low-carb regimen.

“Are they adding it to the diet or are they replacing it?” said Alice Lichtenstein, a nutrition expert at Tufts University. “If somebody substitutes, and they taste good, more power to ‘em.”

Before you start hunting this thing in stores, be aware it has yet to be grown as a field crop. The first planting may begin this fall for a debut early next year.

Nor does it have a name. Trade press dubbed it “Spud-U-Lite,” and growers may seek to get in a plug for their locale along the lines of “Florida Lite.”

Still, its developers swear by its taste and tout its “great moisture” for baking and mashing.

If nothing else, a bit of potato rivalry may be brewing. While the Idahoans may pride themselves on the fry-perfect goodness of the Russet, the Florida crew is a bit less enthusiastic about its high-starch ways.

“We have Russets on the farm,” Hutchinson said, “and when you put them in the microwave, they actually blow up.”

from First Coast News
Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Palatka, FL -- For 17 years, potato farming has been a good business for Danny Johns. He's earned a good living and even says he hopes to pass on the family business to his sons.

But now Johns says the fad diets which include low or no carbohydrates are killing his business.

"I had 800 acres of potatoes three years ago. Then I went to 600. This year I'm down to 430 acres,' Johns told First Coast News.

Carb counters are staying away from potatoes.

Even McDonald's has cost potato farmers billions of dollars from cutting back on their french fry orders.

Johns is looking for some kind of rebound.

He has teamed up with scientists from the University of Florida to create a low carb potato.

"We have taken a yellow potato from the Netherlands and we're working with it to create a low carb potato that is not genetically enhanced but tastes great."

Johns says what consumers are missing are the other nutritional values potatoes offer.

"They're high in potassium and vitamin C."

While he hopes to have his low carb tater in grocery stores by next year, he still believes this low carb fad will soon fade away.

"People need to just get up off the couch, exercise and eat more potatoes!"

from SpudMan Magazine

With low-carb diets sending potatoes onto the menu of taboo dinner items, growers are seeing decreased demand and decreased value of the once-prized American staple. But a new variety being grown in Florida could help reverse the anti-spud attitude of late.

The yet-unnamed variety was developed by HZPC, a seed company based in the Netherlands and tested by University of Florida researchers (UF). UF Assistant Professor Chad Hutchinson said they have been testing this potato for five seasons.

“We have been evaluating its horticultural characteristics for those seasons, and consistently it’s risen to the top of the lines from HZPC,” Hutchinson said. “I think it finally got to the point where it is a no-brainer.”

Among the qualities tested on the new potato were flavor and appearance and its ability to grow in the sands of Florida. Its low-carbohydrate characteristic was an added benefit to finding an attractive potato that grows well in the state.

“The variety was selected long before Atkins or South Beach or before any of these groups were running,” said Don Northcott, marketing manager with HZPC American Corp. “The variety was selected for its ability to grow under hot conditions, beautiful skin, high yields – just a good looking potato.”

Northcott said Florida growing seasons are different from many for growing potatoes. When most areas go from long days to short days, the Florida season goes from short to long.

“It’s cool when you plant and is warm most of the season,” he said. “So we selected Florida because if it can work there and in Wisconsin, we know it would fit in California and Maine and other places – it’s very adaptable.”

Where a Russet Burbank will take 130 to 140 days to mature, this new, low-carb variety takes 80 or 90 days.

“A shorter time in the field means guys don’t have as long a wait,” Northcott said.

The size of the new potato variety is different from other varieties out there as well. Northcott said it’s not a round white, and it’s not a long Russet – it’s in between.

After selecting this variety for trials and production, researchers found out that the variety has 25 to 30 percent fewer carbohydrates than standards like Russet Burbank and Yukon Gold, Northcott said.

“We knew there were some varieties that would have the potential to be lower in carbohydrates because there are traits for that,” he said. “We examined a select set of material and compared it with known industry standards – lo and behold we had one low in carbohydrates.”

Though the growers and researchers have seen what they’re calling tremendous promise in the new variety, others are saying it’s not necessarily a good move for the potato industry.

“My view is that the Idaho potato is already a nutritious product – it’s got only 100 calories, no fat, no sodium and no cholesterol,” said Frank Muir, president of the Idaho Potato Commission. “Our focus is on potatoes as we’re currently growing them.”

Muir said he is also concerned by stories he’s seeing in the mainstream press about the new potato.

“The other thing that concerns me is that the press release says it won’t taste like anything currently available,” he said. “If it doesn’t taste like a potato, people aren’t going to eat it. It’s going to be a real niche potato for people who are just paranoid about carbs.”

Though some may not see a widespread acceptance and demand for the new low-carb spud, Northcott said it’s getting a lot of press.

“At least they’re talking about potatoes, right?” he said.

Northcott said the new low-carb potato is expected to be available to consumers starting in January 2005.

from Gainesville.com
Friday, June 18. 2004

Those looking to trim their waistlines via the low-carb route may have an easier time saying "yes" to spuds with a new potato tested by University of Florida researchers.

The potato has 30 percent fewer carbohydrates compared with a standard Russet Burbank baking potato, the most commonly used type, said Chad Hutchinson, an assistant professor of horticulture with UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Hutchinson, a potato expert, said he predicts the new spud will be very successful, especially with the low-carb craze infusing the diet industry.

"This potato has a great taste and color, and it's not genetically engineered," Hutchinson said. "Consumers will love this potato, and Florida farmers will have a top-selling crop."

A controlled population of spuds is being grown at the UF Plant Science Research Unit at Hastings in St. John's County about 64 miles east of Gainesville.

With marketing aimed at selling the potato as a gourmet commodity, local upscale restaurant owners said they are willing to give it a try.

Nelson added that in order for his restaurant to consider using the potato or any new product, it must have a high-quality taste and be easy to cook and handle.

Despite the popularity of low-carb foods, Matt Walker, kitchen manager of Steve's Cafe Americain Inc. in Gainesville, said he thinks the addition of a low-carb potato to the mix is merely a fad.

"We may get it and try it out and see how it goes," Walker said, "but if it's not as consistent as what we use now, we won't buy it. I think it's unnecessary to market it as a low-carb potato because it won't be a selling point for a gourmet restaurant that focuses mostly on selling foods with the best flavor and taste."

The potato contains 13 grams of carbohydrates in a 3?-ounce serving compared with about 19 grams in the same size serving of a Russet Burbank potato, Hutchinson said.

The European-imported spud, which was developed by HZPC, a seed company based in the Netherlands, will be available to consumers in January under a yet-to-be determined name. UF is the first test site in the United States for the spud, and the potato is expected to boost Florida's $120 million potato industry.

Growers originally planned to market the potato as a premium, gourmet crop instead of a low-carb product, said Jim McDowell, sales and marketing director for SunFresh of Florida, which purchased the rights to the new potato.

"The low-carb aspect may bring consumers to try it, but once they taste it they'll like it," McDowell said. "I think people would like a reason to eat potatoes again, and this could be just what the doctor ordered."

Low-carb potatoes are not lone warriors in the battle against the bulge. UF researchers have cooked up another innovation for guilt-free eating called the flaquita.

The "flaquita," named for the Spanish word "flaco," which means "thin," is a nearly carb-free sandwich wrap that looks and acts as a tortilla packed with protein.

There are only 2.6 grams of carbs in the flaquita compared with about 11 grams for a corn tortilla or 22 grams for a flour tortilla. By grinding animal parts of chicken, fish or beef and suspending them in a solution and then spinning them in a centrifuge, the flaquita's makers found that they could separate protein from other animal compounds, according to an IFAS news release.

Recent UF graduates invented the new tortilla as an alternative to popular low-carb wraps now being offered in restaurants. And according to IFAS, the university is currently seeking a partner to turn them into a commercial product.

from New York Times
Sunday, August 8, 2004

Hastings, FL -- Wayne Smith wants the world to fall in love with a spud, and in this hard-luck town whose welcome sign reads "Florida's Potato Capital," his pitch is sounding smooth as a bowlful of mashed.

"The sunshine is bursting out of this beautiful potato," Mr. Smith, a fourth-generation potato farmer, said of the new variety he hopes will rejuvenate his farm, his region, perhaps even his industry. "It is a creamy, moist, delicious potato that looks like the butter's already in it."

Here, though, is the clincher: Mr. Smith says the potato he is pushing has 30 percent fewer carbohydrates than the average Russet Burbank, the beloved variety that flourishes in Idaho, a state Mr. Smith glowers at the mention of. He and five other Florida farmers have formed a cooperative to grow and market the lower-carb potato, which they christened Florida SunLite.

(They liked Spud Lite better, Mr. Smith said, but feared Budweiser would complain.)

Fate has not smiled on Florida's potato industry in decades, thanks mostly to competition from cold-climate states whose sturdier potatoes can be stored for months. It is a far cry from the turn of the century, when farmers first began planting potatoes in northeast Florida to supply the luxury hotels that were sprouting up and down the coast.

Lately, potato farmers everywhere are hurting: Potato consumption was down 4.7 percent last year from 2002, according to the National Potato Board, which is spending $4.5 million on a "Healthy Potato" campaign.

The number of potato growers in St. Johns, Putnam and Flagler Counties, whose sandy-soiled farming region starts about 30 miles south of Jacksonville, went from 370 in 1971 to 92 in 1990, Mr. Smith said. Now, a few years into the low-carb craze, only about 40 remain. "For Sale" signs dot the flat green fields, packing plants sit abandoned, and potato farmers long ago started seeking additional forms of income.

Mr. Smith, 55, opened a gun shop next to one of his potato fields in the 70's and also grows perennial peanut for hay, raises minnows for bait, and sprays other farmers' fields.

But he is a potato man at heart, and determined, he said, to win Florida's potatoes the same kind of respect its citrus gets (though oranges, too, are suffering from carbohydrate backlash). He and other Hastings farmers started consulting five years ago with Chad Hutchinson, a University of Florida professor specializing in potato research, to find a sexy new potato.

They settled on the lower-carb variety, developed by a Dutch seed company called HZPC, because it was disease resistant, tasty and pretty for a potato. They are paying HZPC for exclusive rights to grow the potato. Only late in the process did they realize their choice had fewer carbohydrates than most tubers, Dr. Hutchinson said, though they are not sure why.

"We're working right now to figure out what is going on in that potato," he said. "For now, I'll just say it's fairly unique."

The cooperative hopes to market the pale, smooth-skinned SunLite as a potato to eat fresh, said Jim McDowell, the director of sales and marketing for the cooperative, SunFresh of Florida, in contrast to typical supermarket potatoes that have been stored for up to a year.

"We want to get folks used to eating fresh quality potatoes from Florida," he said.

As much as Mr. Smith disdains the Idaho potato industry, which produced $542 million worth of potatoes in 2003 compared with Florida's $130 million, according to the agricultural statistics service, he said he admired its marketing savvy.

"They market themselves phenomenally, even with that cardboard-box skin," he said. Patrick Kole, a vice president of the Idaho Potato Commission, said growers would follow the SunLite with interest but that it might not be in demand for long because the low-carb craze may have peaked.

If low-carb diets go the way of the Macarena and the SunLite proves only a brief fix for Hastings, at least it will let the town hold onto its original raison d'etre a little longer. The number of residents who subscribe to Spudman magazine, name their sons Tater (there is at least one) and remember watching the potato-grading operation in a nearby town called Spuds is dwindling fast.

Mr. Smith said he does not want to get rich from this venture, but to see his 8-year-old grandson and 82-year-old father keep working together on his farm for as long as possible. He is a religious man, and considers the SunLite more a product of divine intervention than laboratory science.

"I don't want to sound flip about it, but there is a divine hand moving every part of this," Mr. Smith said. "It's just a God-given miracle if you want to get right down to it."