German chemical giant BASF has applied for European Union approval for a second genetically modified potato. Fortuna, the new biotech potato, is modified to be resistant to late blight and produce more starch. image expired

The company announced on Monday it had sought clearance for Fortuna from the European Commission, covering commercial cultivation and food and feed consumption (for humans and animals). The company said that, with its latest GM potato, it will attempt to change consumer opinion towards GM crops within the EU; the majority of EU consumers currently vehemently oppose GM for use in food.

In March 2010, BASF won European Commission approval for Amflora, its first biotech potato, designed for industrial starch production. The approval process for Amflora took over a decade from its first submission in 1996, due to the commission’s inability to reach a decision on the controversial GM crop. In 2008, BASF filed a law suit against the EU Commission for failure to act on its approval request after the approval process foundered amid disagreements in the commission.

Whilst many farming groups and corporate interests in the EU have pushed for the streamlining of GM authorisation in the bloc, stating the technology is imperative for achieving food security targets, public opinion remains hostile to the crops and scientific thought is still divided. Environmental groups such as Greenpeace maintain that the environmental effects of growing GM crops have been largely untested and say insufficient research has been done on the effects of consuming the crops as food. Many have expressed concerns at having patents for essential crops held by private businesses.

GM potato plantings were down in the EU last year following a scare whereby unauthorised GM potatoes were mixed with Amflora potatoes, prompting farmers to avoid GM for the next growing season. Although Europe is the only region in the world that allows the commercial cultivation of GM potatoes, Amflora potatos are banned in Austria, Luxembourg and Hungary because of the presence of an antibiotic resistance marker (ARM) gene, which those countries governments feel could make the problem of antibiotic resistance worse.