European Union governments blocked approval in mid October of a genetically modified potato made by BASF and three corn varieties developed by Monsanto, hampering EU efforts to expand the market for bio engineered crops.
The opposition by health regulators from some countries prevents fast-track approval of the Amflora potato from BASF for animal feed and the Monsanto corn types for feed and food. The European Commission, the 27-nation EU's executive arm, must now ask government ministers to give their verdict in a step that will add months to a process that the United States says is too slow.
If the ministers fail to make a decision within three months, the commission usually issues its own authorization under a legal default process. The potato and corn varieties pose "no risk to human or animal health or to the environment," the commission said. A split among ministers would give the commission the power on its own to approve the BASF and Monsanto applications.
The commission is seeking to push through approvals of products in the $6 billion global bio engineered-crop market over the resistance of the governments of countries like Austria, Greece and Hungary.
Surveys show opposition to such foods by more than half of European consumers, who worry about risks like human resistance to antibiotics and the development of "super weeds" impervious to herbicides.
Herald International Tribune
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