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European approval for the GMO potato of BASF
Belgium
Thursday 04 March 2010
Brussels authorizes the culture of Amflora, the GMO potato of BASF, but every member state is free to authorize it.
For the first time since 12 years, an authorization of a GMO culture is given by the European Commission and arouses a deep controvert.
This potato named Amflora, is developed by a subsidiary of the German group of chemistry BASF. It is not intended for the human food, but for the production of starch. Its by-products can be used for the animal food.
The opponents of Amflora underline that the tuber contains a gene of resistance in antibiotics, from which the abandonment was required by a European lawof 2004.
" Every State is free to authorize or not the culture of this GMO", specified the European Commissioner in charge of the Health.
Sweden, Czech Republic, Netherlands and Germany would be ready to use it.
In other places, the reactions are differents, for example in Austria where the Minister of Health wants a law to forbid at once the culture in the country.
Italy, where no GMO is cultivated, wishes to put itself in a forehead of the refusal: "we shall estimate the possibility of promoting a common forehead of all the countries which will want to unite with us to defend the health of the citizens and the European identical agricultures", warned Minister for Agriculture.
source : europa eu
