A decision announced by EU health and consumer affairs commissioner John Dalli to give the go-ahead for genetically modified potatoes has been described by Friends of the Earth Malta as a let-down of the European public.

"The 'Amflora' potato, designed to produce starch for industrial purposes by Germany´s chemical giant BASF, carries a controversial antibiotic resistant gene and it cannot be guaranteed that this will not enter the food chain," Martin Galea De Giovanni, chairman of FOE Malta said.

"This is a bad day for European citizens and the environment. The new commissioner whose job is to protect consumers has in one of his first decisions ignored public opinion and safety concerns to please the world's biggest chemical company. This decision puts profit before people or the environment and will do little to increase public confidence in the Brussels bureaucracy."

He said the antibiotics affected by Amflora are vital tools against illness and despite growing resistance to these life-saving drugs, industry has added them to potatoes with no guarantees that they will not get into the food chain.

"With this decision Commissioner Dalli has not only snubbed European citizens, the vast majority of whom reject GMOs, he has snubbed member states as well. The new Commission promised to let national governments decide on whether to grow GM crops on their own territory but at the first possible opportunity they have broken this promise.