Simply Potatoes are always fresh, never frozen. Northern Star does not recommend
or guarantee the quality when freezing finished products. If you do choose to
freeze and thaw the product, moisture or collecting water and possible sloughing
of the product is expected. In addition, if the product is prepared on a grill
or deep fried, then the final fry color will be darker or the product may burn.
Red potatoes are almost always adversely affected by freezing, and the final
product attributes will be unacceptable in appearance, texture, and flavor.
It is strongly recommended not to freeze red skin products.
Northern Star does not guarantee the shelf life of an open bag that has been
stored for an extended period of time. If the product has been kept refrigerated
at less than 40°F and the package was re-sealed well, the product will be good
up to 3 days after initially opening.
If a package is opened prior to the "Use By" date, but quality seems questionable
(i.e. sour odor, gray product, mold growth) - DO NOT USE THE PRODUCT. The old adage,
"when in doubt, throw it out" holds true on almost all refrigerated food products.
Northern Star refrigerated potato products are produced under tight food safety and
quality controls; however product can be abused unintentionally once it reaches the
store level. This can contribute to product not meeting its "Use By" date guarantee.
If you have purchased product that did not meet your expectations,
please call or write Customer Service
to receive a coupon for replacement product.
Michael Foods would like all stores to carry all of our products.
Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. We recommend you express
your interest to your local grocery store manager. You can also
visit our Where to Buy section here
Unlike other refrigerated mashed potatoes, Simply Potatoes uses only
the best ingredients like real butter, whole milk, and half and half,
rather than margarine and water. These high-quality ingredients provide
a convenient solution to made-from-scratch mashed potatoes that taste
just like homemade.
Red potatoes tend to have a lower specific gravity, which means they
contain a higher ratio of water to solids than a Russet (brown) potato
which has lower ratio of water to solids. The Red potatoes contain more
sugar than the overall make-up of a Russet potato, giving red potatoes
a sweeter flavor.
There are two likely explanations for this phenomenon. Red potatoes
that have been recently harvested have a very thin skin set. As the
product moves through our processing facility, some of this thin "red"
skin can slough off, leaving the layer underneath exposed which has
a browner appearance. Secondly, the red color of the potatoes can
vary based upon what variety of Reds is grown and also the soil
conditions where the potatoes were grown. Potatoes grown in sandy
soil conditions tend to have a lighter color, sometimes mistaken
for a pale brown color.
Milk Protein: All of the Simply Potatoes mashed products contain
one or more dairy components. These ingredients are clearly marked
on the label.
Sulfites: To maintain freshness, Northern Star retail products contain
bisulfites that can illicit an allergic reaction in hypersensitive
individuals. All retail packages are carefully labeled on the ingredient
deck indicating that the product contains sulfites.
Gluten: All Simply Potatoes varieties have been confirmed to be gluten free.
This is due to rounding rules. The food labeling regulations require that all
food manufacturers round to the nearest gram for sugar. If there is less than
0.5g of sugar, standard practice is to label this as 0g. However,
the % Daily Value is typically rounded to the nearest whole number.
The Nutritional Facts panel on the Shredded Hash Brown packages lists the nutrient
content of the unprepared Hash Browns. Since there are numerous ways to prepare
the Hash Browns (i.e. Margarine, Butter, Oils, Cooking Spray), we leave it to our
customers to choose the preparation aid that they are most comfortable with in
their diet.
Disodium Dihydrogen Pyrophosphate - a food additive used in all Northern Star retail potato products that maintains the white color of the potato flesh.
Potassium Sorbate - a preservative commonly used for all Northern Star retail potato products that helps potatoes stay fresh.
Sodium Bisulfite - a preservative used in all Northern Star retail potato products. It extends our product shelf life by inhibiting microbial growth and maintaining product quality attributes (flavor, odor, etc.) in the finished product.
Xanthan Gum - a food additive used in Northern Star retail potato products that helps the mashed potatoes stay bound with their liquid content as they cool.