Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 14, 1994                   TAG: 9412140123
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

SUPER SQUASH GETS OK FROM FDA

The squash, the first genetically engineered food to carry disease resistance, also could enter the marketplace unlabeled. The Food and Drug Administration last month pronounced the foods safe for humans.

The Agriculture Department said there was no need to regulate the viral-resistant crookneck squash, produced by Upjohn Co.'s Asgrow Seed Company.

Biotechnology advocates say the squash will make farming more productive in states like Georgia and Florida, meaning more squash can be grown on fewer acres. Fewer pesticides would need to be used against the aphid that carries the virus from one plant to another.

Critics say too little is known about potential for the squash to pass its viral resistance into the wild plant population, creating the potential for super weeds and new viruses to evolve.