KIMBERLY, Idaho — From the fields of Idaho to tasting rooms in suburban Chicago, potato farmers, researchers and industry representatives are in the midst of an elusive hunt: finding a new spud for McDonald’s French fries.
Because McDonald’s buys more than 3 billion pounds of potatoes annually across the globe, it has the power to dictate whether a variety sprouts or winds up in the less-lucrative supermarket freezer’s crinkle-cut bin — or worse yet, is banished to become dehydrated taters.
“It’s a card game where McDonald’s holds nine-tenths of the cards,” said Jeanne Debons, the Potato Variety Management Institute’s director.
The company still relies on the Russet Burbank for many of its fries, even though this 130-year-old variety takes an eternity to mature, gulps water and falls victim to rots and other diseases, meaning farmers must douse it in chemicals. McDonald’s is scrutinizing the Bannock Russet, a 10-year-old potato variety bred originally in Idaho that isn’t as susceptible to most diseases.
“If we can find a variety that does that, with less inputs, water or whatever, that’s something we’re looking for,” said Mitch Smith, McDonald’s agricultural-products director.
The Associated Press; AP file photo
