Stalemate on approval requests for GMOs

The stalemate paves the way for default approval by the European Commission.

The applications considered by member states concerned four varieties of pest and disease-resistant maize developed by Monsanto. The fifth product under consideration was a variety of starch-rich potato developed by BASF.

The products are intended for use in food and animal feed, and, in the case of the potato, for industrial starch production.

The European Food Safety Authority has declared them safe, making it highly likely that the Commission will approve them, as it has done with a series of other GM products since 2004.

Public health watchdogs and environmental NGOs have voiced concerns, in particular relating to the BASF ‘Amflora’ potato, which contains antibiotic-resistant marker genes.

They fear that parts of the potato would be used to feed livestock, ultimately entering the human food chain and subsequently conferring resistance to antibiotics.

Following the decision Industry and farmers’ organisations warned that member states' continuing failure to approve GMOs risked causing European agriculture to fall behind its competitors.

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