Sweden Approves Gm Potato Crops

Sweden has approved the growing of the first genetically modified potato - not for human consumption but for production of starch for paper.

The move is likely to prove controversial in the EU, which has still to ratify the Swedish decision, because waste products from the process will be used as animal fodder and may enter the human food chain.

Debate rages over the safety of GM potatoes after Dr Arped Pusztai experimented with them in 1998. He said afterwards he would never eat them. Dr Pusztai, who was working at the Rowett Institute in Aberdeen, found that rats fed on GM potatoes developed immune system defects and stunted growth after a human equivalent period of 10 years.

His results were challenged by the pro-GM scientific community, the Rowett Institute suspended him and the Royal Society attacked him. The row damaged the credibility of those involved and cost Dr Pusztai his career but the question of whether GM potatoes were safe was never resolved, because there were no plans to grow them as food.

Pete Riley from Friends of the Earth, said: "There are a lot of questions still not answered to our satisfaction about GM potatoes and there will have to be stringent rules about keeping them away from the human food chain."

There is no evidence animals fed GM crops suffer any harm or pass on any antibiotic resistance or other traits further up the food chain but there is considerable public resistance.

Gabriella Cahlin, a spokeswoman for the Swedish Board of Agriculture, insisted: "It's not a food potato."

The new potato contains high amounts of a starch that can be used in paper production, she said, although she conceded that by-products from the starch extraction would be used for animal fodder and fertiliser. This may hold up its EU approval - something the Swedes concede could take up to six years, depending on opposition.

The EU has approved about a dozen genetically engineered crops, including types of corn, rapeseed and soy beans but this is the first attempt to introduce a potato. It has already been cultivated in trials by Plant Science Sweden, and is the first GM crop in the country.