--- title: USDA Approves Genetically Engineered Potato description: But some food-safety experts aren't psyched about the super spud canonical: https://time.com/3574780/usda-potato-genetically-engineered/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-09T18:38:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T11:19:25.142Z article:section: Science og:title: USDA Approves Genetically Engineered Super Potato og:description: But some food-safety experts aren't psyched about the spud og:url: https://time.com/3574780/usda-potato-genetically-engineered/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50c8c4f78ee68ec0/698767df0b72e31ba26dbd18/potato.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: potato og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: USDA Approves Genetically Engineered Super Potato twitter:description: But some food-safety experts aren't psyched about the spud twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50c8c4f78ee68ec0/698767df0b72e31ba26dbd18/potato.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # USDA Approves Genetically Engineered Super Potato  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Nov 9, 2014 6:38 PM UTC  Potatoe on white background Potatoe on white backgroundStuart Minzey&—Getty Images  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Nov 9, 2014 6:38 PM UTC The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday [approved a genetically engineered potato](http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/08/innate-potato-simplot-gm-watchdogs) that is resistant to bruising and cuts down on a possible cancer-causing substance, though some food-safety experts aren’t so excited about the super spud. The Innate Potato, trademarked by Simplot, contains the DNA of other kinds of potatoes mixed in through a process known as RNA interference technology, _The Guardian_ reports. “If this is an attempt to give crop biotechnology a more benign face, all it has really done is expose the inadequacies of the US regulation of GE crops,” Doug Gurian-Sherman, senior scientist at Center for Food Safety, said in a statement. “We simply don’t know enough about RNA interference technology to determine whether GE crops developed with it are safe for people and the environment.” Simplot says the new potato minimizes the creation of an amino acid that at high temperatures reacts with certain chemicals to become acrylamide, a substance the International Agency for Research on Cancer has called a “probably human carcinogen.” The company has reportedly worked on the potato for more than a decade, but activists are already asking one of the company’s biggest customers, McDonald’s, not to buy it. \[[_The Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/08/innate-potato-simplot-gm-watchdogs)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3574780/usda-potato-genetically-engineered/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3574780/usda-potato-genetically-engineered/"},"headline":"USDA Approves Genetically Engineered Super Potato","datePublished":"2014-11-09T18:38:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:19:25.142Z","description":"But some food-safety experts aren't psyched about the spud","url":"https://time.com/3574780/usda-potato-genetically-engineered/","keywords":["Food","Food Safety","USDA"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50c8c4f78ee68ec0/698767df0b72e31ba26dbd18/potato.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50c8c4f78ee68ec0/698767df0b72e31ba26dbd18/potato.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"potato","caption":"potato","creditText":"Stuart Minzey&—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3574780/usda-potato-genetically-engineered/","name":"USDA Approves Genetically Engineered Super Potato"}}]}] ```