HAMBURG, Germany - The federal Ministry of Health last week decided to ban in Germany the marketing of a genetically modified corn by the Swiss company Novartis AG.

The corn is designed to produce Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin to protect the plants from insect pests, especially the corn borer. Novartis Seeds GmbH, a Novartis subsidiary located in Bad Salzuflen, Germany, had received marketing approval three years ago and expected an admission by the German Federal Office of Plant Varieties (Bundessortenamt, BSA), of Hanover, this month.

The BSA is within the portfolio of the Ministry of Agriculture and has to certify and admit new plant varieties. During the course of approval the new varieties are judged by quality, performance and other distinctive features. The Bt corn would have been the first genetically engineered plant to be cultivated in Germany without any limitations. So far, cultivation of genetically engineered plants is allowed only in experimental field releases. In 1999, it was planted in test fields.

Shortly before the BSA's final decision, several German environmental groups protested, saying the Bt corn could provoke pest resistance, was potentially dangerous for beneficial insects and posed a human health risk because of its ampicillin resistance marker gene.

In a prompt move the Ministry of Health, headed by the Green Party member Andrea Fischer, decided to suspend the marketing approval for an indefinite time. The decision is backed by the Green-run Ministry of the Environment and the ministries of Agriculture and Research, both of which are headed by social democrats. Now, farmers are not allowed to cultivate the corn even if the BSA approves the new variety.

In principle, cultivation of genetically modified corn is allowed in all countries of the European Union. However, it has been grown only in Spain on a hectare 20,000 area. Similar to Germany, France suspended marketing approval a couple of months ago. The situation is not expected to change until the European ministers of the Environment have decided upon enforced guidelines for the risk assessment of transgenic plants.