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Potato scientists are reworking the nutritional profile of this third largest consumed food, next to rice and wheat, to place it in the “health foods” category. For this, they are trying to enhance potato’s innate content of antioxidants (anti-cancerous) and anti-diabetic ingredients. Efforts are also on to promote the hi-tech systems of seed production through aeroponic (soil-less) and tissue culture (test tube) techniques. This would help save time and cost of producing disease-free and good quality seeding material to mitigate the shortage of certified potato seeds.
Potato pundits, in any case, do not view it as an unhealthy food. Shimla-based Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI) director S K.Chakrabarti dismisses the notion that potato intake heightens the risk of weight gain.
