The study, led by Gilles-Eric Seralini at the Criigen research institute, found that the rats developed tumours over a two-year period, and its results called into question the safety of the maize, which is manufactured by Monsanto.
The study's length made its results far more reliable than previous research, said Seralini.
But independent scientists criticised the work for its statistical methods and for using the wrong type of rat.
Dr David Tribe, an applied geneticist at the University of Melbourne and specialist in food science and safety, weighed into the discussion with a series of blog posts and co-authored papers decrying the research.
FoodNavigator-Asia spoke to him recently to find his take on this controversy.