EU considers "test case" GM potato approval

A committee of member state experts failed to deliver an opinion on Monday on whether the EU should allow a type of genetically modified potato to be grown.  It is the first application in eight years to reach this stage in the approval process since the EU imposed a de facto moratorium on such decisions in 1998.

The potato was developed for industrial use by chemical firm BASF and contains a higher than normal share of amylopectin starch, desired by papermakers and other industry sectors.