Limburgerhof, Germany, April 17, 2008 – BASF today published an open letter to EU Commissioner Stavros Dimas calling on him to approve the genetically optimized starch potato Amflora for commercial cultivation in Europe without any further delay. Since the vote in the Council of Agricultural Ministers in July 2007, the decision to approve Amflora has been with Commissioner Dimas.
"Even though all steps in the EU approval process have been taken successfully, Mr. Dimas failed to grant approval," said Dr. Stefan Marcinowski, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE. "An important future technology that offers benefits to farmers and the starch industry in Europe is being blocked without any reason. Amflora is safe. This has even been confirmed repeatedly by the EFSA experts."
EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, is responsible for the scientific assessment of genetically modified crops.
BASF representatives met with Commissioner Dimas on April 15 in Brussels, but the meeting failed to produce results. Representatives from the Commission were not able to present new scientific findings that would argue against approving Amflora for commercial cultivation in Europe.
Leading starch producers recently confirmed that amylopectin potatoes like Amflora represent annual value-added of at least €100 million for Europe’s starch industry and farmers.
About Amflora
Amflora is a genetically optimized potato that produces pure amylopectin starch and is ideal for technical applications. Conventional potatoes produce a mixture of amylopectin and amylose starch. For many technical applications, such as in the paper, textile and adhesives industries, only amylopectin is needed; separating the two starch components is uneconomical. Amflora produces pure amylopectin starch and thus helps to safe resources, energy and costs. Moreover, paper produced with amylopectin starch has a higher gloss. Concrete and adhesives can be processed for a longer period of time.
About BASF Plant Science
BASF Plant Science is the plant biotechnology company of BASF - The Chemical Company - and has around 700 employees. Since 1998, the company has been working on plant optimization in the following areas: a more efficient agriculture, a healthier diet and the use of plants as a renewable resource. This includes, for example, the development of agricultural crops with higher yields, oil-producing plants with a higher content of healthy omega 3 fatty acids and potatoes with an optimized starch composition for industrial purposes.
About BASF
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from oil and gas to chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals. As a reliable partner BASF helps its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF has more than 95,000 employees and posted sales of almost €58 billion in 2007. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN).