The European Parliament on July 3, 2002 voted for a tough bill that requires the labeling of genetically-modified (GM) food products, risking the anger of US farmers and fanning a trade row.

The new rules, passed in a first reading, require any food and animal feed sold in the EU to carry a label alerting consumers to the presence of GM ingredients.

This applies even if genetically altered material cannot be identified in tests because it has been destroyed through processing, as in the case of oils and sugars. Green groups and the European Commission, the EU executive, were broadly pleased while a US government official was disappointed.

Greenpeace welcomed what it called the "world's strictest legislation'' in GM labeling, although it and other environmental pressure groups were unhappy parliament had rejected labeling food, such as meat and eggs, from animals fed with GM feed.

The draft regulations, which also require the approval of EU governments, are the last piece of tight European Union rules designed to ease consumers' concerns about GM organisms which opponents fear could pose environmental or health risks.

In a crucial decision, parliament voted against a proposal to put the onus of labeling on producers of non-GM foods, a move the Greens said would have turned conventional foods into niche products and put GM products in the mainstream.

The United States regards genetic engineering as normal in agriculture and has already questioned the legality under global trade rules of EU restrictions on GM products.

The bill would force farmers and importers to segregate GM from conventional crops and has enraged the US farm lobby which says it will be costly, of no benefit to consumers or the environment, and could prompt a transatlantic trade dispute.

Future Of GM Moratorium

But the new rules may be essential to reopen the authorization procedure for GM crops, blocked since June 1999.

A hard core of seven EU states has demanded a regimen to ensure GM foods are labeled as such and can be traced back through the food production chain if health problems arise.

Greens among Members of the European Parliament -- the most anti-GM group in parliament -- were delighted by the vote.

The Guardian July 4, 2002