Commission set to approve GM potato

EUROPEAN Union regulators won the right to approve a genetically modified potato made by BASF after governments were split, moving the EU closer to its first authorisation in nine years of a biotech food for cultivation.

The European Commission gained the power to allow planting of the Amflora potato for use as industrial starch because EU agriculture ministers failed to muster a sufficient majority for or against the application.

Germany-based BASF genetically altered the potato to enhance its starch content for industries including textiles, packaging and adhesives.