Europe Approves First GM Potato

The European Commission announced Tuesday it would authorize the cultivation of a biotech potato, as well as the commercialization of three varieties of biotech maize for food and feed uses and import and processing.

“After an extensive and thorough review of the five pending GM files, it became clear to me that there were no new scientific issues that merited further assessment,” stated Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli. “All scientific issues, particularly those concerning safety, had been fully addressed. Any delay would have simply been unjustified.”

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), which represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations around the world, applauded the announcement. Lauritsen, BIO’s executive vice president for Food and Agriculture, issued the following statement in response to the EU’s decision.

“We welcome the decisions made by EU officials to move forward with these pending biotechnology applications. Authorization of the genetically engineered Amflora potato for cultivation and for use in animal feed and industrial practices is the first biotech crop approved for domestic growing in the EU in more than a decade.

“This represents an encouraging first step towards remedying an impasse that has put EU farmers at a disadvantage in the competitive marketplace. Currently 14 million farmers around the world choose to grow biotech varieties because these crops are more environmentally friendly, yield more per acre, resist diseases and insect pests and reduce farmers’ costs.

“But a lot more needs to be done. Another 17 products are awaiting EU approval for cultivation, and 44 biotech products are awaiting authorization for food and feed as well as for import and processing in the EU.

“If the EU and the world are to reap the benefits of agricultural biotechnology, timely and science-based approval is needed now more than ever.”