Save our tatties! New approaches for virus control in Scottish potato crops.

Potato is the second most important food crop in the UK, and the underpinning seed potato industry contributes >£1 billion to Scotland’s economy. Aphid-vectored viruses threaten potato harvests because infected crops are downgraded or destroyed. Historically, Scotland has maintained low virus levels in potato crops, but this is changing due to the warming climate, new virus variants, loss of crop protection products, and aphid resistance to insecticides.

Enhancing efficiency in vertical farming: a focus on crop improvement

Fluctuating environmental conditions severely impact Scottish crop production affecting crop yields, nutritional quality and food security. Growth in indoor environments such as vertical farms (VF) offers opportunities to extend food security by providing year-round production in precise, pest-free, optimised environments for year-round production of high-quality crops irrespective of external conditions.

Simon Pont

Simon in a senior Research Technician for the Plant Biochemistry & Food Quality sub-group (within EBS department and Advanced Plant Growth Centre).

His current role is wide ranging from experimental set up all the way through to sample analysis using high-throughput methods, including HPLC, LC-MS and GC-MS.

 

Area of Strategic Research Programme

Theme B: Sustainable food system and supply; Project B1-5: Crop improvement for sustainable production in a changing environment

Simon Pont

The James Hutton Institute

Invergowrie

Dundee DD2 5DA

Scotland, UK

Dr Raul Huertas

Raul is a senior crop molecular physiologist at the James Hutton Institute in Dundee, working within the Advanced Plant Growth Centre (APGC). His discovery-led research explores how plants respond at the physiological and molecular levels to environmental stress, as well as their adaptive strategies and limitations.

Raul Huertas

The James Hutton Institute

Invergowrie

Dundee DD2 5DA

United Kingdom

WHAT’S IN YOUR KEBAB?

Food fraud costs the UK around £2 billion per year, and improving testing methods is key to tackling this issue. However, current techniques often lack the speed and accuracy needed to detect mislabelled meat products. Researchers at the Rowett Institute have developed a cutting-edge method called MEATiCode, which can simultaneously identify multiple meat species in a single processed food sample.

Adding value to Scottish salmon: role of ecolabels and nutritional claims

The eco-labels "Farmed Responsibly ASC Certified" and "Certified Carbon Neutral" can potentially enhance the desirability of Scottish salmon among UK consumers. Additionally, labelling Scottish salmon as “High in Omega-3” could further increase its value. However, it is important to note that while eco-labels and nutritional claims play a role, they are secondary factors influencing UK consumers' preferences for salmon.

Mapping of UK seafood supply reveals mismatch between production and consumption, and large nutrient losses through exports.

Transforming our diets to build a more sustainable food system is paramount to achieving net zero. Here, we provide a high-resolution perspective on United Kingdom (UK) seafood supplies and nutrient flows at species level. We mapped seafood production (capture and aquaculture), trade (imports and exports), purchases (within and out-of-home), and seafood consumption, between 2009 and 2020.