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EU clears altered tomato
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October 11, 1999: 9:19 a.m. ET
Regulators OK first genetically modified crop in 18 months; ban still in place
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LONDON (CNNfn) - European regulators cleared a new genetically modified tomato for production Monday in the first approval for such products in more than 18 months
The decision received a cautious welcome from industry groups who have watched public and political opposition to genetically modified products soar in Europe, in stark contrast to the apparent apathy surrounding the issue in the United States.
European officials virtually banned new genetically modified products in June but remain split over the treatment and introduction of existing modified foodstuffs such as tomatoes and cotton.
The Scientific Committee on Food, an arm of the Brussels-based European Commission, authorized the sale Monday of the genetically modified tomatoes produced by U.K.-based AstraZeneca (AZN), whose shares gained 1.2 percent in London.
"It all has to be seen as relative [in the context of] the de facto moratorium," said Paul Muyse, spokesman for Europa Bio, a Brussels-based genetically modified industry group.
The Zeneca tomatoes are intended for processed foods such as canned tomatoes and tomato paste. A genetically modified-derived paste was summarily removed from British supermarket shelves earlier this year amid a public outcry over the lack of testing of genetically modified foods and their potential impact on the community.
Biotech firms, still fazed by the hostile reception to genetically modified crops in Europe, recently have taken steps to defuse the controversy. Officials of Monsanto (MTC), one of the leaders in genetically modified crops, last month met U.K. environmental groups and reportedly offered to halt crop trials in Britain. 
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