Is The Smell Gone? Potato Sludge Slime Sends Truck Off Road

The accident occurred July 2, but by now finally the smell has gone away?

Potato sludge sends semi sliding off-road.

If you were wondering what that wonderful odor was in Franklin County July 2, it was potato sludge. The Franklin County Sheriff's Department reports there was (apparently) a truck carrying potato sludge (waste products from harvest, production, and sub-standard taters) that leaked it all over part of a county road.

Road crews were seen dropping a lot of sand near the intersection of Highway 395 and Selph Landing Road, but not before this semi-truck could not get stopped in the slime and jackknifed. The driver was not hurt, but in our pictures, you can see the shiny road conditions.

 What is potato sludge?

Often referred to as potato waste, sludge is a smelly mix of by-products from processing, along with sub-standard potatoes and other by-products that we don't eat. The website dairyknowledge.in has some information about how these waste products are used for a variety of purposes, including cattle feed.

According to the website:

"Potato    peels,    pulp     and    unpmarketable potatoes can be  processed and  incorporated  into animal  feed  formulations.  "

We've never been around potato sludge, it's understood that it's not like a french-fry or burnt cooking smell, but much worse.

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And the Franklin County Sherif's Department put it this way in their informational release about the incident:

"While it may be hard to see, it’s unfortunately easy to smell."

By all accounts, we've heard the road should be smelling somewhat better by now.