Make up
your own mind

1 The first stage of the process – potatoes.

On a beautiful Autumn day back in October, my husband and I travelled to Woodhouse Farm in Staffordshire, where we were welcomed and greeted by a charming farmer called James Daw. He farms 1200 acres of which 300 contain potatoes. James is one of many farmers who produce potatoes which ultimately become the French fries which we all enjoy with our McDonald's meals.

His passion for farming was second to none. From the moment we met to the time we left, Kevin and I were left with a warm feeling that although we were only talking about potatoes they were always in safe hands if James and his staff were looking after them.

James drove us down to a typical field where potatoes were being collected for onward transport to storage. So we got down to the nitty gritty and asked him for a detailed explanation as to how the potatoes are harvested and stored. How many of us would have imagined that satellite technology is used in the harvesting of potatoes (because it certainly did not help us in our quest to get to the farm – the country lanes got us horribly lost!)

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2 Everything was documented, from start to finish.

James explained the crop we were going to follow was planted on the 18th April, 2007. He was able to prove this to us as full documentation is kept about not only each crop but which field that crop was grown in, how the field has been treated and all manner of facts and figures which he may be needed to produce on request.

He then went on to tell us he produces two varieties of potato for McDonald's, one of them being Russet Burbank which was the variety we saw being harvested. This is one of the preferred potatoes for the McDonald's fries, as it produces potatoes of the right shape and size. There are 40 farms in the UK that produce this variety solely for Mc Donald's. We wondered how James could achieve such uniformed sized potatoes, and he went on to say that size is determined by the distance the seeds are initially planted.

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3 Absolutely nothing goes to waste.

We went on to ask James what happened to the potatoes that were too small to be used for fries. His reply was that they may be used in the production of waffles, so we were pleased to hear no potatoes big or small go to waste. Even the stalks are ploughed back in to the ground – something which we are all keen to hear in these days of recycling I am sure!

We were also keen to find out whether the potatoes were ever treated with chemicals or pesticides, as we know a lot of people are concerned by this issue. So we were pleased to learn that James had only used pesticides during the wet weather of June and July, which meet all the government criteria.

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4 A fair few potatoes

Gone are the days when you would see a field full of people walking up and down a field collecting the crop, nowadays mechanical means harvest them at a phenomenal rate, load them in to trailers for quick transport to the storage facilities. A trailer holds approximately fifteen tonnes, and James went on to tell us that the field we were standing in would yield 650 tonnes of potatoes – wow!

From the field the potatoes were transported by tractor and trailer to the storage sheds, each of which would hold 1250 tonnes of potatoes.... and there were six of these sheds! On arrival at the storage area, we saw a tractor unloading its crop onto a conveyor belt, directing them into the storage shed. The potatoes are treated like eggs, they are very delicate and any small knock could damage the potato and thus cause problems. Therefore the fall from the conveyor is kept to an absolute minimum. The shed is temperature controlled at 12 degrees for two weeks, and then it is reduced down to seven degrees. This temperature is constantly monitored right down to the core of the stack as potatoes in such large numbers create heat. Unbelievably some of these potatoes will still be in storage here until June 2008!

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5 From the farm to the factory

From here the potatoes are transported by road in covered trucks to the McCain processing plant in Scarborough where they will be made into fries.

Finally we asked James if he ever visited McDonald's restaurants and he replied that he did... and if the fries were not up to scratch then he would tell them!

We would like to thank James for a most informative and enlightening visit to his farm. James's enthusiastic approach towards not only his crop but us too made us feel very welcome. We left the farm feeling we had had an interesting insight into potato farming.

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6 The second part of our investigation begins.

Scarborough, famous for sun, sea, sand, fun..... and fries!

Yes that is where the McCain factory which produces good old McDonald's fries is situated, and a tour of the companies facilities was undertaken by myself and my husband in October 2007 to see how the fries which McDonald's sell are produced, as well as hopefully dispel a few of the urban myths regarding the humble fry!

On our arrival we were greeted by the McCain’s team and taken up to the board room, where we were given a brief history of the company by Ian Cameron, the director of McDonald’s business with McCain. He then invited his colleague Chris Lee to explain how the potatoes we had seen at the farm become the fries we all know and love.

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7 A few key facts

First some overall facts about McCain and their relationship with McDonald’s. We learnt that the deal McDonald's struck with McCain began in 1978, and in that year 400 tonnes of fries were produced. Today, 80,000 tonnes are produced each year

The potatoes arriving at the plant can be peeled, washed, chipped and ready to leave the plant in around one hour and forty five minutes.

We also learnt that McCain annually have a nine day independent audit. This examines every aspect of the business very thoroughly. Key features of this include, staff, equipment, documentation and three days of food and safety inspections. On top of this McCain also undertake their own internal audit to ensure all the standards for quality are being met.

McDonald's also from time to time go in to the factory to make sure their standards are being reached. Quite clearly they are, as McCain have a whole array of awards from McDonald's for all different aspects of the business – these awards are not easily obtained.

It really seemed as though McCain and McDonald's are very open with each other – this again was heartening to hear. It was as if nothing would ever be too much trouble for McCain.

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8 Into the factory itself

After the first meeting, we donned our white overalls and safety hats, before proceeding to the plant. Before, we could enter, all the people in our party had to sign in declaring they were fit and well. It was heartening and reassuring to know that their health requirements seemed to be strict. They were also very strict on what was allowed to be taken in - the pen Kevin tried to take in to the plant to do notes was not allowed. He had to be given a special detectable pen – more about that later!

We witnessed a lorry of potatoes being received by the plant. We were told that each lorry load had to have its own passport and without this documentation it would not be allowed on the premises. Each lorry carries 28 tonnes of British potatoes, and a number of sample batches are taken and quality tested from each lorry before the delivery can be accepted. These tests cover size, defects and sugar content. All the testing information is recorded on a computer for future reference should it be required.

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9 Moving past the initial potato quality checks.

From here we witnessed the vast potato storage bins which are kept at a constant 6-8degrees centigrade, and went on to the area where the potatoes were peeled by steam. We were most disappointed not to see people with potato peelers! The skins go off for animal feed which we were most impressed with – in fact there is very little waste throughout the whole plant. Now that is good news!!

After trimming and the preheating of the fries, in preparation for the cutting, the potatoes are graded to three different sizes – small, medium and large. They are then fired through a cutting machine at a speed of 40 miles per hour. This was quite amazing to see in operation and the criss cross blades looked fierce!

From there the fries go through an ADR machine (Auto Defect Removal). This is a fantastic piece of computerised machinery, which as its title suggests removes any defects within the fries at a frightening speed and was fascinating to watch.

The potatoes are then blanched and then dipped into cold water and immediately put in to a drier for approximately ten minutes to remove any excess moisture. They are then fried for forty five seconds in vegetable oil – the same oil that is used in the restaurant. The residue fat is removed in a de-fat machine and the chips are pre-cooled before a quick fifteen minute spell in the flash freezer.

Further down the line small pieces of potato that may have broken off the individual fries are removed. These pieces are known as chaf, and are also used for animal food.

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10 The final test – now there’s a job I want.

The final part of the tour gave us the opportunity to witness (and partake in) the quality testing of the fries. Here the fries are cooked in a vegetable oil in exactly the same manner as McDonald's would in their restaurants. The fries are tested for colour, consistency and taste. I want that job!

The fries are then weighed and bagged. From here the bags are put through a metal detection unit, to check for foreign bodies which may have dropped in down the line – now you can perhaps understand why my Kevin was not able to use the pen he had brought in to the factory originally – as it would not be detectable.

From there the fries are put in to boxes, before they are put into cold storage and then off they go to the McDonald's distribution centres.

Kevin and I of course at this time would like to thank all the staff at the McCain plant for making this visit so interesting and informative, and for the warm welcome they gave us.

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