May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed producer, lost an emergency court request to lift a German ban on genetically modified corn.

Germany’s prohibition on a strain of genetically modified corn made by Monsanto was justified because “a preliminary assessment” showed the plant raises a potential danger, the Braunschweig Administrative Court said in an e-mailed statement today.

The law doesn’t require “a scientific finding that shows a danger for the environment beyond doubt,” the court said in its ruling. “It’s enough that new or additional information indicates that humans or animals may be hurt.”

Germany joined a widening European prohibition on genetically modified crops that may lead U.S. trade officials to retaliate. The ban applies to Monsanto’s MON810, a pest- resistant corn variety, that’s already forbidden in France, Austria, Hungary, Greece and Luxembourg, German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner said April 14.

“We will analyze the ruling and then decide on whether to appeal,” Andreas Thierfelder, Monsanto’s director of public affairs in Germany, said in an interview.

The ruling is preliminary and the judges will further examine the case before issuing a final verdict, the court said. No date for a hearing or a final decision has been set.

While there aren’t “assured” scientific findings that the corn presents “heightened” dangers to the environment, new studies indicate that it also works against insects other than pests, the court said. The plant’s pollen may also spread much farther than previously thought, the judges wrote.

Today’s ruling is VG Braunschweig, 2 B 111/09. The full case is: VG Braunschweig, 2 A 110/09.

To contact the reporter on this story: Karin Matussek in Berlin at kmatussek@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 5, 2009 05:30 EDT