A NEW study conducted by the Chamber of Agriculture has found no statistical difference in fry colour between potatoes stored using DMN, a naturally-occurring compound that acts as a plant growth regulator, and those treated with an ethylene-based sprout suppressant.
Over the past two seasons, Restrain has partnered with the Chambre d’agriculture du Nord-Pas-de-Calais, a French public body that provides services to the agricultural sector, to conduct commissioned independent research on fry colour performance in chips.
Fry colour remains one of the most persistent and costly quality challenges for potato growers and processors. Factors such as temperature fluctuations, CO₂ accumulation, treatment performance, and overall store management can significantly impact final product colour. As the sector continues to rely on a range of sprout-control options including oils, DMN, and ethylene, ensuring consistent storage performance is a priority.
The research program focused on comparing InhibitR™, an ethylene-based sprout suppressant, under real commercial storage conditions across multiple French sites.
It compared two varieties, Fontane and Markies, across four commercial stores in France. Fry colour was assessed three times during storage in February, April and May. Each assessment was based on 20 fries per sample, fried at 180C for three minutes in sunflower oil.
No significant differences were seen between the treatments of both variety during the 2023-2024 season, while in the 2024-2025 season, a short and challenging season where slightly elevated sugar levels were seen in April in some stores, all sites had rebalanced by May and, again, there were no measurable differences in fry colour between the two treatments.
Restrain has now launched 20 additional monitoring sites across Europe, taking in multiple potato varieties.
Photo: Mockup Graphics
