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AFTER a 13-year wait, the EU has approved the commercial application of BASF’s genetically-modified (GM) potato.

BASF first requested authorisation for its Amflora potato in 1996 but approval was prevented by an EU moratorium on GM products that ran between 1998 and 2004, and even when BASF reapplied for approval, the EU governments failed to reach a decision. BASF took the commission to court in 2008 in an effort to force its hand and now the EU’s new health commissioner John Dalli has declared it safe and given permission for its cultivation beginning later this year.

"After waiting for more than 13 years, we are delighted that the European Commission has approved Amflora," said BASF director Stefan Marcinowski. “We hope that this decision is a milestone for further innovative products that will promote a competitive and sustainable agriculture in Europe.”

BASF has tinkered with the potato genome so it produces only one strain of starch – amylopectin, which can be used as a feed for paper, textiles and adhesives. Regular potatoes produce a mixture of amylase and amylopectin, making it too costly to separate the two strains.

BASF says its Amflora starch, which will also be used to feed animal but not humans, optimises industrial processes giving paper a higher gloss. Also, concrete and adhesives can be processed for longer, which reduces the use of energy, additives and water.

Despite BASF’s sustainable claims, environmental groups remain wary of the effects that modified organisms may have on natural biodiversity. Furthermore, because one of Amflora’s genes has been linked to antibiotic resistance in humans, there are fears it could make the sick and frail more susceptible to disease.

Amflora is only the second GM product approved by the EU. The first was Monsanto maize in 1998.