Cause of starch potato comingling identified

Amflora and Amadea potatoes comingled by mistake in the same physical space

28-Sep-2010 - Sweden

BASF Plant Science has identified the root cause of the starch potato comingling in northern Sweden. During the course of company's regular internal quality assurance measures in August, BASF Plant Science discovered 47 Amadea plants in Amflora propagation fields and immediately reported this to the responsible authority. None of the potatoes have entered commercial potato starch processing. Amadea is BASF’s second genetically modified starch potato, which BASF Plant Science recently submitted for EU approval.

BASF Plant Science has provided representatives from the European Commission as well as from the countries where Amflora is currently cultivated, namely Sweden, the Czech Republic and Germany, access to all the documents regarding its potato production. Additionally, the company proposed improvements to the production system and the quality assurance. The history of all the potatoes was traced. This root cause analysis identified the temporary cultivation of Amadea and Amflora plants in the same physical space in the early seed propagation stage as the cause for the comingling. BASF Plant Science will therefore discard the harvests from all the affected potato fields in northern Sweden. This affects approximately 16 hectares.

“We traced back the cause and can narrow the comingling down to a part of our harvest in Sweden,” said Peter Eckes, President of BASF Plant Science. “The mix-up occurred because Amadea and Amflora plants were in close proximity to each other at our facilities. We regret this very much. To prevent such mistakes in the future, we will ensure complete separation of the production systems for Amadea and Amflora.”

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/123383/cause-of-starch-potato-comingling-identified.html