It has been well documented recently that the summer heatwave of 2018 has had a drastic impact on the quality of crops including onions and fruits. Now, a report investigating the risk of climate change to UK fruit and vegetable farmers has revealed that it is the turn of the potato to feel the full force of last year’s hot weather.

The report compiled by The Climate Coalition found that the British chip has been left an inch shortage this year due to the 2018 heatwave. Potatoes have grown much smaller than usual this spring due to the extreme weather of last year, which was made 30 times more likely due to global warming according to the report.

Fruit and vegetable farmers have had to endure winter deluges, late frosts and dry summers in recent years, making the precarious job of growing crops all that bit harder. Some farmers have even reported there to be a 25% reduction in yields from the previous year and numerous quality issues surrounding misshapen and smaller potatoes. This is expected to be a reoccurring issue with climate change already making extreme weather more likely and further projections indicating severe water stress in key parts of England.

As a way of halting this trend and protecting the fruit and vegetable industry for years to come, the report calls for urgent reductions of carbon emissions and food waste. Although they may not look how they should, using your misshapen spuds instead of being wasteful and throwing then away may make all the difference to the UK fruit and vegetable industry delivering high quality produce once again.

M&P Engineering is an industry leading manufacturer and supplier of food processing and packaging equipment to food production sites across the globe. M&P’s new food processing equipment has fresh cut in mind. New technology is constantly being developed and improved to meet the ever-increasing demand for fresh fruit and vegetables ready to eat. New to M&P is the Carousel Grid Cutting Machine. The versatile machine is able to cut fruit and vegetables into fries, batons, wedges, petals and slices, and can produce up to 4,800 pieces per hour.

In addition, M&P is also home to the world-renowned onion peeling machine. M&P Engineering’s large onion peeler uses self-adjusting knife assemblies to top, tail and peel onions between 45mm to 115mm diameter. The onion peeler also uses air compressors to remove the outer skin, helping to maintain optimum appearance throughout the peeling process.

To find out more, call us on +44(0)161 872 8378 or contact us here.

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