2nd Outdoor Test of Altered Bacteria Conducted

A genetic engineering company declared success in the nation’s second outdoor testing of a controversial laboratory-altered bacteria designed to prevent crops from freezing.

Ironically, after chilling high winds delayed the effort at a strawberry patch over the weekend, the test was conducted without incident Monday by Advanced Genetic Sciences Inc. of Oakland in this farming community 30 miles east of the city.

A company statement said Tuesday that scientists had “successfully completed the application” of the bacteria, whose trade name is Frostban. Frostban is a natural bacteria genetically altered to prevent frost damage to fruit and nut crops, the company said.

In the past, environmentalists have demonstrated against the outdoor testing, charging that the bacteria could trigger unexpected negative effects in the environment. But there were no incidents during Monday’s test, Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Lt. Albert Snell said.

“This is a major step forward in bringing Frostban to the marketplace,” said Joseph Bouckaert, president of the company. “The application . . . is the first of several which will test the product under different conditions.

“The data we collect from these applications will be used in final EPA registration and marketing of the product,” he said, adding the target is two to three years.

Scientists wearing face masks and dressed in coveralls walked through the acre patch, spraying the laboratory-produced microbe. The test was conducted to determine how growers can use the product in a few years to protect fruits and other crops from icy weather.

The company said its first application of Frostban last April--on the same tiny strawberry patch--showed it keeps plants ice-free in temperatures as low as 30 degrees Fahrenheit, without any environmental repercussions.

“That was a research test,” spokeswoman Patrice Malone said of the initial spraying, which came only after the company fought off legal objections by environmentalists and wary residents and won state and federal approval.

“This is a business test,” she said of the second test spraying of Frostban from hand-held canisters by technicians in white protective suits.