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From Spud to Snack: The 24-Hour Crisp Journey
30 Jul
Summary
- It takes 24 hours to turn a harvested potato into a crisp packet.
- One field provides enough potatoes for Seabrook factory for two days.
- Water availability is a major challenge for potato growers.
The transformation of a humble potato into a popular crisp snack is a swift, 24-hour operation.
Near York, a single field, equivalent to 17 football pitches, yields approximately 2.5 million potatoes, each destined to become a bag of crisps. These are transported to the Seabrook factory in Bradford, where crinkle-cut crisps have been made since 1945.
Modern farming techniques allow for efficient harvesting, with combine harvesters lifting the crop. A batch of 27 tonnes contains around 240,000 tubers. Ideal potatoes are round, about 50ml in size, and crucial for flavor.
Potato growers face increasing challenges, particularly water availability, due to prolonged hot and dry summers. This impacts the size and quantity of the harvest, adding costs for irrigation.
At the Seabrook factory, potatoes are washed, peeled, sliced into crinkle shapes, fried, and seasoned within approximately 40 minutes. The entire process, from field to final product, ensures the delivery of one to two million packets daily, totaling 460 million packets annually.
