EU reaches agreement on Frankenfood labeling

EU farm ministers agreed Nov. 28 on new rules to label food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which have been embraced by the United States but remain deeply suspect in Europe.

With public passions running high over so-called "Frankenstein foods," the ministers spent a day of tough haggling before agreeing a compromise accord put forward by the EU's Danish presidency.

The agreement could set the stage for lifting a ban on GMOs in place in seven EU countries since 1999.

A majority of ministers accepted that food or animal feed containing more than 0.9 percent of genetically altered ingredients should be automatically labeled.

They also agreed to a maximum permissible level of 0.5 percent for food and feed that accidentally contains unauthorized GMOs.

"We have a qualified majority for our proposal," Danish Agriculture Minister Mariann Fischer Boel said, praising the "bravery" of her colleagues.

The Danish presidency had proposed labeling food which contains more than 1 percent of GMOs, and a 0.5 percent threshold for the accidental level.

The Danes eventually brought France, Germany and Italy - which all wanted much tighter restrictions for labelling - on side.

Britain, however, voted against, arguing the agreement was too restrictive. But under the qualified majority rule, it was unable to veto the accord.

A British diplomat said that with current technology, it was "simply not possible" to test GMO levels under 1 percent.

Fischer Boel had earlier warned of the failure to reach an accord. "It is crucial that we do adopt a proposal because we have now a situation where we have no labeling of foodstuffs and feed," she told the meeting. An agreement "would be a major step in the right direction".

The EU last month agreed to new guidelines for the eventual cultivation of GMO crops, seen as a preliminary step to lifting the ban in the seven nations - Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy and Luxembourg.

But public disquiet about the technology is deeply entrenched.

Opinion polls by the European Commission suggest 94 percent of EU citizens want to have the right to choose between genetically modified and naturally grown foods, with nearly 60 percent fearful that genetically engineered crops could damage the environment and affect human's health.

"European consumers have been denied proper information about GMOs in their food for too long," Friends of the Earth campaigner Adrian Bebb said. "It is now time for a change. Ministers must give their backing to comprehensive new genetically modified labeling rules," he said.

The EU agreement represented a rebuff to the European Parliament, which in July voted for the labeling of food to begin at 0.5 percent.

In the United States, the GMO industry has grown into a major player, and U.S. officials want a more relaxed approach from Europeans.

The debate has turned nasty, with Washington accusing the EU of being complicit in a brewing famine in southern Africa because of its GMO stance.

Several affected countries including Zambia have refused U.S. food aid that may contain GMOs.