EU assembly calls for rethink on GM food labels
 
    BRUSSELS, Oct 27 1999 (Reuters) - The European Parliament called on
Wednesday for changes to a controversial new law on which foods must be
labelled as containing genetically modified (GM) ingredients.

     The assembly's president Nicole Fontaine wrote to European Commission
President Romano Prodi urging him to postpone the entry into force of
compulsory labelling for all foods where at least one ingredient contains
more than one percent GM material.

     Members of the assembly's environment committee said the decision
should be delayed until they have had the chance to put their views to EU
Enterprise Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, parliament officials told Reuters..

  Deputies are angry that they have had little input into the decision,
which was taken by a committee of food experts from the 15 EU governments
in a vote last week. Most also feel that the one percent threshold is far
too high to reassure consumers.

     Under the procedure used in this case, the final decision lies with EU
governments, which have a duty merely to inform the parliament to allow it
to give its non-binding opinion.

     Concern is growing in Europe about the safety of food processed from
crops modified by biotechnology. Until last week's decision, there was
little clarity about which foods have to carry a label alerting shoppers to
the presence of GM material.

     "We're not happy with the present ceiling of one percent. We think
it's too high and hope we can persuade the Commission to lower it," a
committee spokesman said.

     He quoted committee chairwoman Caroline Jackson as saying that the
parliament had problems accepting a decision taken by a committee "without
apparent democratic accountability."

     Commission officials were not immediately available for comment.
     The EU has not approved any new GM crops since April 1998, raising the
PROSPECT of another damaging trade spat with the United States, which has
had trouble exporting bulk commodities to Europe because of the delays in
approving new GM varieties.

     Experts from the 15 EU states meet in Brussels on Friday to vote
whether to approve three new GM crops held up in the logjam of
applications.

     These are a fodder beet developed by Monsanto Co, plus two strains of
rapeseed from Agrevo -- a joint venture between Hoechst AG and Schering AG
- -- and Plant Genetic Systems, a unit of Agrevo.