Italian environmental group Legambiente on Wednesday expressed concerns over a European Union decision to move ahead with authorisation procedures for two types of genetically modified maize.
The two maize types, developed by Swiss and United States multinationals, will be analysed and voted on by a commission of biotechnology experts from the EU's 27 member states in the coming weeks.
''This is a serious development that we strongly hope will be prevented by the sense of responsibility of the member states called to vote on its authorisation,'' said Legambiente's agriculture pointman Francesco Ferrante.
''If we can't count on the European body to defend our health, at least the governments should take on the responsibility of defending the environment and the economy by fighting against the devastating and irreversible hypothesis of cultivating GM crops in Europe,'' he added.
Last year Italian Industry Undersecretary Adolfo Urso came under fire from Italian farmers for urging the EU to step up research on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) despite stressing that experimentation should not be carried out in areas used for traditional crops.
The traditional stance of the Italian government has long been one of blanket opposition to biotech products in any form and Gianni Alemanno, agriculture minister in the previous centre-right government, was a staunch defender of traditional crops.
In 2005, parliament approved a law aimed at preventing the contamination of conventional and organic products by GM crops.
The law bans the cultivation of GM crops in open fields, permitting only restricted and protected testing of such organisms.
GM seeds must be kept strictly separated from conventional seeds and farmers whose crops are accidentally contaminated can claim compensation.
The law also gives regional governments the right to decide whether GM crops are allowed at a local level. Nearly all of the country's 20 regions have implemented legislation against GM crops.
As the largest producer of organic crops in Europe and the fourth largest in the world, there is a widespread fear of the potential damage resulting from accidental GM contamination.
