potatoes, trial planting in Sweden 2008 As of 2011, BASF Plant Science has developed three products: •
Amflora, a potato developed initially for the European market, producing pure
amylopectin starch for industrial use.
Waxy potato starch is used in industrial procedures to make yarn stronger and paper glossier; it also makes spray concrete adhere better to walls. Due to lack of acceptance of GM crops in Europe, in 2012 BASF Plant Science decided to stop its commercialization and research activities on the European potato varieties Amflora and Fortuna. Further, it announced the relocation of the corporate headquarters from Germany to the USA. • Cultivance is an
herbicide resistant soybean. It received market permission from Brazil in 2010. Marketing and sales of Cultivance are through Embrapa, a Brazilian company. A range of more crops are in the pipeline: • Maize, soy, canola, and cotton: The aim is higher biomass, and plants that better resist environmental factors such as drought or disease. These crops are developed on the island of
Kauai in Hawaii and are distributed in cooperation with
Monsanto. • Sugarcane, sugar beet: The aim is to develop plants that produce more
sugar for use in food or as raw material for
biofuel production. • Fortuna Potato: developed for resistance against
Phytophthora infestans, a disease which is difficult to combat for European agriculturists. Other products are being developed for the food industry for use in
genetically modified foods. Examples include plants with a higher content of
omega-3 fatty acids for preventing cardiovascular diseases, and plants with a higher content of
astaxanthin which is used in
fish farming as feed additive, and as a
food supplement for humans. ==References==