Genetically engineered potatoes approved for Maine farms
Three types of genetically engineered potatoes developed by Idaho-based J.R. Simplot Co. were recently approved for use in Maine.
The Bangor Daily News reported the Maine Board of Pesticides Control approved registration of the three potatoes, called Russet Burbank, Ranger Russet and Atlantic, whose benefits include reduced bruising, protection from late blight pathogens and enhanced cold storage capability.
Sharie Fitzpatrick, a senior biotech regulatory manager at Simplot, told the BDN the potatoes were ruled safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and approved by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Maine is the last state in the country to approve the potatoes.
But Jim Gerritsen of Wood Prairie Family Farm in the Aroostook County town of Bridgewater, who sells organically grown seed potatoes to customers in all 50 states, told the BDN he opposed GMO potatoes.
“There’s a growing body of evidence that consumers do not want genetically engineered food,” Gerritsen said.
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