BRUSSELS: John Dalli got his first taste of the heat in the Brussels kitchen as environmental groups greeted the approval of the cultivation of a genetically modified potato and the use of three types of altered maize in food and feed production with disdain.

The go-ahead for the Amflora potato – developed by Ludwigshafen, Germany-based BASF SE – marked the first green light in 12 years to grow a genetically modified food in the European Union.

Critics accused the European Commission of pandering to corporate interests at the expense of public health.

The EU executive also approved the marketing of three genetically modified maize products from Monsanto Co. of St Louis, Missouri for food and feed purposes, but not their cultivation.

EU Public Health Commissioner John Dalli said the EU executive is only guided by science in approving genetically modified organisms, an issue of fierce debate in Europe.

“Responsible innovation will be my guiding principle when dealing with innovative technologies,” he said at a news conference. He added there were no scientific reasons to delay the approvals.

While widely used in the United States, genetically modified foods face opposition in Europe where critics see them as a health and environmental risk. Opposition is strong in Austria, Italy, Hungary, Greece and France.

Some EU countries ban them – fearing their seeds will unintentionally spread and alter the natural surroundings – others don’t.

The EU head office accepts that ambiguity which erodes the notion of equal access to the entire 27-nation EU market.

Martin Haeusling, a Green EU Parliament member, said Dalli showed “flagrant support for industry interests” adding 70 per cent of EU consumers oppose genetically manipulated food. “There are serious concerns about an Amflora gene that is resistant to antibiotics,” he added.

Heike Moldenhauer, a spokesperson for the Friends of the Earth Europe environmental group, said the EU decision “puts profit before people... There are clear health concerns surrounding this GM potato.”

The Italian government also objected. “We are against the decision... that grants the permission to cultivate a genetically modified potato,” Italian Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia said in a statement.

The German government said the Amflora potato will be grown in eastern Germany but not on an industrial scale.

Amflora and the three genetically modified maize varieties had already been approved by the European Food Safety Authority.

The first approval request for the Amflora dates back to 2003. Dalli said the potato will produce starch for paper production to help save “raw materials, energy, water and oil based chemicals.”

He approved the three maize varieties after EU governments failed to come to an agreement effectively leaving the decision to the EU executive. (AP)