TOKYO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The Japan unit of life sciences company Aventis is awaiting results of Japanese tests on its genetically modified corn (GM) as feed before deciding whether to apply for import approval, a senior company official said.

Any application by Aventis CropScience Japan KK, a subsidiary of the Franco-German group, to sell its StarLink GM corn to Japan could be hampered by last week's discovery of unapproved StarLink corn in imports of food and feed to Japan from the United States, analysts said.

"We understand that it's a very sensitive issue and extra precautions have to be taken," Jacques Dupuy, president the Japan subsidiary of StarLink's maker, told Reuters in an interview late on Thursday.

StarLink is not approved for either human or animal consumption in Japan.

Aventis said it had submitted information on StarLink for animal feed to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery in late September in an initial move toward filing an official application.

After a preliminary hearing with the ministry about two weeks ago, the company was notified that the ministry did not want to proceed, he said.

No intention to apply

"We have no intention to apply as they oppose it," he said, adding that he understood and supported the ministry's need for further scientific investigation.

In 1988, Aventis applied for approval to the Health Ministry to include the GM grain in food products, but did not receive a reply.

The StarLink issue has become a hot topic in Japan, where consumer opposition to genetically modified foods is high, after last week's announcement by a consumer group that tests revealed traces of StarLink in products from food manufacturer Kyoritsu Shokuhin.

Kyoritsu, which used imported raw materials from the United States, then recalled a corn meal product from store shelves.

The government allows the import of 29 GM products, and has not responded to consumer group demands to suspend imports.

Poultry tests first

On Wednesday, the ministry informed Aventis it wanted to conduct its own feed studies on poultry using StarLink corn, Dupuy said.

After the ministry assesses the safety of StarLink corn as poultry feed, and its potential effect on consumers who may eat the poultry, the ministry may review the Aventis data, he said.

"It is not us who to decide the time of the official application," Dupuy said, stressing that this was up to the ministry.

StarLink has been approved by U.S. regulators for animal feed but not for human consumption, due to concerns about potential allergic reactions.

On Tuesday, a U.S agriculture official said the United States, confident that a scientific review would verify the safety of StarLink, hopes Japan will soon approve the grain for use in animal feed.

Japan's Agriculture and Health Ministries said last week they had asked visiting officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture not to export corn commingled with StarLink to Japan for food as well as for animal feed.

The StarLink issue has brought domestic corn dealing to a virtual halt, with importers scrambling to find alternative supplies amid pressure from end-users.

Japan imports four million tonnes of corn per year for food and another 11-12 million tonnes for animal feed, mostly from the United States. Japan alone takes 30 percent of U.S. corn exports.