www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

Inside tucked-away labs in an Idaho town built by french fries, teams of
scientists are splicing potato genes, working daily to perfect Idaho's top
cash crop with modern biotechnology, reports the Associated Press, January
2007.

At J.R. Simplot Co., biologists hope to create the first genetically
modified potato, designing a spud that's tastier and resistant to unsightly
bruises and sprouts.

According to the Associated Press, what's more, the potato's revamped gene
structure rebuffs acrylamides, potentially dangerous chemicals that studies
suggest bond with sugars in fried potatoes.

Company officials stress that the new potato, a genetically modified Russet
Ranger, is in a preliminary research stage. It will be five to 10 years
before Simplot markets a genetically enhanced potato that could supplant
unmodified Russet Burbanks, the variety sold by the billion to fast-food
restaurants across the world.

"It's five years down the road and only if consumers really want it," said
Caius Rommens, Simplot's lead biologist on the project. "But this could be
the first. It's a breakthrough the first time genetic modification ever
enhanced flavor."

Even when the new Russet Ranger is perfected, it may not be a potato
panacea. Consumers are skittish about genetically modified foods. Fast food
products, already under intense scrutiny from health groups and government
regulators, may not withstand a public outcry against so-called
"Frankenfoods," reports the Associated Press.

There are more than 50,000 genes in a potato. The scientists at Simplot
removed two of those genes and introduced replicas that silence some of
their negative effects, Rommens said. The altered potato could contain 7
percent more healthy starch, while offering a stronger flavor.

The new potato can also be stored longer before its starches begin to
degrade. As starch degrades, sugars build in the potato. Those sugars form
acrylamides when cooked under the intense heat of a fry oven or stove,
international studies first reported a few years ago.

According to the Associated Press, studies have linked acrylamide, a
chemical agent once used to treat sewage, to cancer in animals, according to
the World Health Organization. In California, McDonald's and Burger King
have been sued for not providing warning labels informing customers that
french fries could cause cancer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not ruled yet on any acrylamide
risk, and the battle over warning labels is still bottled up in court.

Fred Zerza, a Simplot spokesman, said a link between acrylamides in French
fries and human cancer has never been proven. But, the gene-altering
technology's potential to reduce acrylamides is promising, he said.

"That's one of the traits that we hope this research would have the
potential for," he said. "But it's a gradual process."

Gregory Jaffe, biotechnology project director for the Center for Science in
the Public Interest in Washington, D.C., said it's crucial that genetically
modified foods are tested for higher levels of natural toxins, allergens and
other potential public health risks.

The center says that after genetically modified foods face testing and
regulation, the choice to eat an altered potato, tomato or other food,
should be left up to the consumer, reports the Associated Press.

That position differs from several national organic food associations that
oppose scientific engineering of crops.

Simplot marketers hopes they can eventually sell a technical distinction to
the french fry noshing public: that their bioengineered potatoes do not
include foreign DNA and are not a crossbred species. Currently, Simplot's
Russet Ranger only modifies existing potato genes.

"Presumably a higher quality potato would receive consumer acceptance, but
that's a question mark," Zerza said. "There's been an indication that
there's a reluctance of consumers in this country and to a greater extent in
Japan and Europe."

Jeff Stark, an agronomist with the University of Idaho's Tri-State Potato
Program in Aberdeen, said genetically modified potatoes can succeed if
consumers are convinced of the health benefits.

"The public is likely to be more willing to accept genetically modified
plant material in the food supply as long as it improves their health," he
said. "My personal opinion is it's a viable option."

[pewagbiotech.org]

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