ABSTRACT
The processed potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) industry began around the Year 1933 when potatoes were delivered to restaurants and institutional food service distributors in metal containers containing water or brine (Treadway and Olson, 1953). Around 1936, the distribution of peeled potatoes in dry pack form (uncooked whole, without water or brine) started in the food service industry A short time later, pre-peeled, uncooked, whole, dry packed potatoes began to be distributed at the retail level (Treadway and Olson, 1953). The first retail offerings of the pre-peeled potatoes had a shelf-life of six days, if held at or below 4° C. This problem led food technologists to develop new packaging systems and preservatives to extend the shelf-life of the products (Treadway and Olson 1953; Čeponis and Friedman, 1957; Anderson, 1959; Francis et al., 1959; Alma and Francis, 1961; Hawkins et al., 1961 Flickinger, 1998). In 1940, a small potato processing plant in Idaho Falls, Idaho USA began producing dehydrated sliced potatoes for the US Army (Davis, 1992). In the early 1940s, the frozen French fried potato was developed
Corresponding Author
by Ray Dunlap, of the Simplot Co., in Caldwell, Idaho, USA. By the late 1950s, the pre-peeled potato industry was preserving products using antibiotics, sulfiting agents, citric acid, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, oxalic acid, etc. (Treadway and Olson 1953; Čeponis and Friedman, 1957; Anderson, 1959; Francis et al., 1959; Alma and Francis, 1961; Hawkins, et al., 1961). Most of these preservative treatments were aimed at controlling browning in the food service and retail products and little attention was given to the microbiological quality of the potato products. It was known that the shelf-life of potato products was reduced primarily by the development of offodors (sourness, yeastiness), off-flavors and poor texture (loss of crispness) (Anderson, 1959). While the pre-peeled potato industry had succeeded in preserving the color of the products, microbial spoilage still occurred rapidly without adequate refrigeration (Čeponis and Friedman, 1957).
