Potato is 'SuperCarb'

Nutritional aspects of potatoes are very important. The topic comes up on a regular basis as the reputation of potatoes and potato products is not fully lined up with the reality. Which forces industry and industry associations such as the USPB (United States) and the Potato Council (United Kingdom) to highlight the nutritional benefits of the potato.

But how do you convey this message to the consumer?

An interesting starting point might be that the "classification" of the potato in nutritional systems is not the same in all countries. Although in many countries the potato is classified in a group together with bread, rice and pasta (grains/carbohydrate rich foods), in the United States the potato is classified as a (starchy) vegetable.

Now a number of farmers of the Potato Council in the United kingdom have come up with an answer on how to pitch the nutritional goodness of the potato: Potato = 'Supercarb'

They even go as far as to submit an official petition to the government to get the potato recognized in a separate category in the countries nutritional system as a 'SuperCarb': "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to create a 'supercarb' food group for potatoes to reflect the fact that they are both an energy-rich starchy carbohydrate AND a vegetable which is packed-full of essential vitamins and minerals. Matt Spanton, one of the farmers leading the campaign, said: "The potato's rich carbohydrate content often overshadows its vegetable status. [...] We believe that the term 'supercarb' more accurately describes what we know is the nation's favourite vegetable and highlights just how much goodness potatoes contain"