Sweden has approved the growing of the first genetically modified potato crop.
However, the potato will not be for human consumption but for production of starch for paper. The move is likely to prove controversial in the EU, which is still to ratify the Swedish decision, because waste products from the process will be used as animal fodder and may enter the human food chain.
Pete Riley, from Friends of the Earth, said: “There are a lot of questions still not answered to our satisfaction about GM potatoes and there will have to be stringent rules about keeping them away from the human food chain.
Gabriella Cahlin, a spokesman for the Swedish board of agriculture, insisted: “It’s not a food potato.”
The new potato contains high amounts of a starch that can be sued in paper production, she said, although she conceded that by-products from the starch extraction would be used for animal fodder and fertiliser. This may hold up its EU approval - something the Swedes concede could take up to six years depending on opposition.
No comments yet