LOS BANOS, Philippines (AFP) - After nearly a decade of research in Europe, the much-acclaimed "golden rice" has finally arrived in Asia, its intended destination.

But even before the genetically engineered (GE) rice is transplanted from the laboratory to the fields, it has created controversy. One green group has labelled it "fool's gold."

The first research samples of golden rice were brought to the Philippine-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in January from Switzerland, where the strain was invented.

"The arrival of these initial samples at IRRI is a very significant step and allows us to finally start on the required testing processes using local rice varieties," said Ronald Cantrell, director of the institute tucked away in Los Banos, a university town southeast of the capital Manila.

Golden rice has attracted much attention because it contains building blocks for vitaman A. Deficiency in the vitamin causes blindness and other diseases.

The grain got its name because it glows with the golden colour of beta-carotene, the yellow-orange compound that gives carrots their colour and the world's most common source of vitamin A.

The prospect of offering daily doses of this key nutrient to millions of Asians in their staple food has excited researchers and governments.

Ninety percent of the world's rice is grown and consumed in Asia, the world's most populous continent.

Scientists at the IRRI, the world's leading rice research center, will breed the golden rice samples, developed originally from the temperate japonica variety, into tropical indica varieties.

"This would be done through the conventional breeding method of crossing or via modern genetic modifications to enhance beta-carotene production," said IRRI plant biotechnologist Swapan Datta, a key researcher in the closely watched project.

Golden rice currently contains about 10 to 20 percent beta-carotene but "we want to bring that level up to at least 20 to 40 percent" to suit Asian needs, Datta said.

"It will take us at least three years to send golden rice for field testing in Asia and another two years before they are available to farmers," he said.

A special humanitarian board has been established, comprising public and private sector groups, to make golden rice freely available to those in need, officials said.

The board is led by German professors Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer, the inventors of golden rice at Switzerland's Federal Institute of Technology.

After months of negotiations, the two inventors, along with Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta AG which held the patent to golden rice, agreed to hand over the first grains to IRRI for further development.

Once the research is completed, golden rice will be distributed free of charge to poor farmers in the developing world, IRRI officials said.

But environmental watchdog Greenpeace said the GE industry was making false promises about golden rice.

European markets have resoundingly rejected GE products, and glocal consumers did not want them in their food, it said.

Greenpeace said figures provided by the developers of golden rice show an adult would have to eat at least 12 times the average of 300 grams of rice daily to get the daily recommended amount of vitamin A.

"It is clear from these calculations that the GE industry is making false promises about golden rice," said Von Hernandez, a Manila-based Greenpeace campaign director for Southeast Asia.

He said golden rice does not address the underlying causes of Vitamin A deficiency, mainly poverty and lack of access to a diverse diet.

Greenpeace said pill supplements and food fortification were effective short-term measures to help address vitamin A deficiency.

Red palm oil, naturally rich in vitamin A, should be promoted for example, it said.

But IRRI spokesman Duncan Macintosh said the institute did not consider golden rice a "quick fix or silver bullet" for vitamin A deficiency in the developing world.

"But surely any new idea that could allow us to better deal with such difficult problems as vitamin deficiency among the poor deserves to be fully investigated," he said.

Gordon Conway, the head of the US-based Rockefeller Foundation which provided funding for golden rice technology, said it was an excellent complement to fruits, vegetables and animal products.

"Complete balanced diets are the best solution, but the poorer families are, the less likely is that their children will receive a balanced diet and the more likely they will be dependent on cheap food staples such as rice," he said.

But Conway agreed that perhaps golden rice had been too hyped.

"The industry's advertisements and the media in general seem to forget that it is a research product that needs considerable further development before it will be available to farmers and consumers," he said.

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