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UK – GM POTATO TRIAL APPROVED
Field trials of a potato modified to resist late blight have been approved by the UK’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The research will be undertaken by the Sainsbury Laboratory at the John Innes Centre in Norwich.
The Government’s Advisory Committee of Release to the Environment (ACRE) has evaluated the application and found that the proposed trial will not result in any adverse effect on human health or the environment. Precautionary conditions were provided in the statutory consent to ensure that the GM potato will not persist at the trial site and the harvested potatoes will not be used for food or animal food.
Potato late blight is a devastating fungal disease which researchers have been attempting to overcome for more than 150 years through the use of fungicides, breeding programs and changed farming practices.
For further information:
ww2.defra.gov.uk/2010/05/21/defra-approves-gm-potato-trial/
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