First Generation of Potato Staple Food Products Launched in Beijing

On June 1, the first batch of first-generation potato staple food products——steamed buns made with 30% whole potato flour——developed by the Institute of Food Science and Technology of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and produced by Haile Da Food Co., Ltd., went on sale in Beijing. Speaking at the launch and promotion event, Chen Mengshan, Party Secretary of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, emphasized that promoting potato as a staple food is of great significance. Vigorously developing the potato industry is an important choice for advancing the transformation of agricultural development patterns and structural adjustment under the new normal, and is also an important measure for alleviating the pressure on China's resource and environmental carrying capacity, promoting farmers' income growth and prosperity, and raising the level of national health.

Chen Mengshan pointed out that this potato staple food product launch and promotion event is a way of releasing the results of potato staple food scientific research products to society, reflecting the responsibility of research institutions to actively face industry needs, connect with industry needs, and serve society; it is a practical activity of government departments serving industry and serving the market, reflecting the transformation of government department functions; and it is a concrete action by the state to guide industry development, reflecting the important role of market consumption in promoting the adjustment of the agricultural industrial structure.

Chen Mengshan required that the next goal should continue to be market-oriented, aimed at continuously satisfying social needs and the nutritional health of ordinary people, continue to increase basic theoretical research, accelerate the breeding of new processing varieties, optimize processing technologies and equipment, continuously reduce the production cost of potato staple foods, and, in line with Chinese people's dietary habits and tastes, develop a series of potato staple food products that are diverse in variety, rich in nutrition, and deeply loved by consumers, and explore an industrialization path for potato staple food production suited to China that is different from that of Western countries.

Potatoes are drought-tolerant, cold-tolerant, and tolerant of barren soil, with wide adaptability, and the soil and climatic conditions in most regions of the country can meet their growth requirements. According to researcher Mu Taihua, chief scientist of the potato research team at the Institute of Food Science and Technology, potatoes are rich in nutrition and abundant in nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber. Among these, every 100 grams contains as much as 14.59 mg of vitamin C, 25.28 mg of calcium, 35.98 mg of sodium, 30.34 mg of magnesium, 0.23 mg of zinc, and 4.87 mg of selenium, as well as 3.03 g of dietary fiber, while containing only 0.81 g of fat, making it a truly nutrient-rich, low-energy, fully nutritious healthy food. The potato steamed buns launched this time have both the unique flavor of potatoes and retain the original wheat aroma of wheat flour, with a rich fragrance and soft texture, and are more nutritious, more balanced, and healthier, and will play a unique role in optimizing dietary structure, enhancing physical fitness and health, and promoting traditional food culture.

Since 2013, when the Ministry of Agriculture proposed implementing the potato staple food development strategy in China, over nearly 2 years, the potato research team at the Institute of Food Science and Technology of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has aimed to develop potato staple food products suited to the dietary habits of Chinese residents, and has carried out a series of studies including the screening of potato varieties dedicated to potato staple foods, formulas and processes, quality formation mechanisms, and comprehensive evaluation of nutrients. They have continuously overcome key difficulties in high-proportion potato staple food products such as difficult fermentation, difficult shaping, difficult forming, easy cracking, and poor taste, broken through a series of technical keys and processes in the processing of potato staple foods, and, on the basis of completing laboratory small-scale trials of potato staple food products, achieved pilot-scale and industrial production, and continuously increased the proportion of potatoes in compound steamed buns of potatoes and wheat flour, from 30% to 40%, and then to 50%, developing first-generation potato staple food products such as potato steamed buns, noodles, bread, and rice noodles, filing 106 patent applications and obtaining 3 granted patents, and drafting nearly 10 industry standards (drafts), opening broad prospects for the promotion and application of processing technology and equipment for potato staple food products.

Responsible persons and research and development experts from relevant departments and bureaus of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Beijing Municipal Rural Affairs Committee, relevant units of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and production enterprises participated in the event.