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Posted November 10, 2014
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved a genetically engineered potato that reduces the amount of potentially harmful ingredients for commercial planting, according The New York Times article available here. MSN also published an article available here, Reuters here, and The Wall Street Journal here.
The potato’s DNA has been altered so that it contains smaller amounts of acrylamide, a chemical suspected of causing cancer in people, which is produced when frying the potato.
The potato also resists bruising, and reduces a farmer’s financial risks associated with harvesting, shipping, and storing potatoes.
Idaho-based J.R. Simplot Company developed the Innate potato, and supplies McDonald’s Corp. with a majority of their frozen French fries, according to MSN.
Potato field trials were conducted from 2009 to 2011 in eight states, including Florida, Indiana, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Genetic modifications are common in field crops such as corn and soybeans with more than 90 percent of U.S. soybeans and about 89 percent of U.S. corn being genetically engineered, according to Reuters.
It has been more than 10 years since a genetically altered potato was approved in the U.S. In the early 2000s, a genetically engineered potato produced by Monsanto Co. was pulled from the market after farmers and consumers showed little interest, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“This approval comes after a decade of scientific development, safety assessments and extensive field tests,” said J.R. Simplot.
For more information on the GMO labeling, the National Agricultural Law Center is hosting a webinar and information is available on the website here.
For more information on food safety, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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