The US, the top producer of GM crops in the world, defended their safety and urged delegates attending the first Conference of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to allow smooth trade in the products to help ease world hunger.

Deborah Malac, biotech division chief in the US State Department, said bio-technology may not cure world hunger but it is an important tool to boost global food security.

"It is not the silver bullet nor the answer to solve world hunger but we do believe it is a critical element that needs to be applied," she told a news conference.

"By simply closing the door on this technology and saying we can't use it, you shut off the possibilities of great potential benefit because there is demonstrated improvement in crop yields which can lead to improved farmers' income, better food security and productivity."

She cautioned against proposals to impose trade sanctions and other strong measures against those who failed to comply with regulations, saying this was "not rational" because details have not been firmed up.

Washington has not signed the UN accord governing cross-border trade in GM organisms, which has been ratified by 86 countries and the European Unionand came into force last September, but is lobbying hard on the sidelines of the meeting for the acceptance of GM crops worldwide.

It is already embroiled in a row with Europe over GM crops in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), where it is contesting the EU's de facto embargo on importing and planting bio-engineered food.

In a pre-emptive move towards an expected easing of these restrictions, EU nations have infuriated the US by passing tough laws on identifying and labelling food that has GM ingredients.

The protocol generally supports the EU's more conservative approach, but details on shipment labelling, liability and compliance came under heavy negotiation this week.

The EU wants the meeting here to follow its line for exports of GM commodities -- mainly wheat, corn and soya -- while Washington wants minimal labelling requirements.

US officials argued there was no scientific evidence that GM products were a threat to human health or the environment, and called for the protocol to be implemented effectively to ensure the continued smooth flow of trade.

Britain's Environment Minister Elliot Morley meanwhile urged all countries to work together to address an "urgent need for progress at a practical level."

The conference offers the "chance of an agreement" with major producing states like Canada to settle differences over the sensitive issue of shipment labelling, he said in a statement.

London also hopes for a consensus on a liability and redress process, and the adoption of a compliance mechanism that "facilitates solutions rather than blame those countries that are currently not meeting their obligations," he said.

Under its provisions, exporters must provide detailed documentation on GM products to recipient countries before shipping to help them decide whether or not to accept them.

Environmentalists lobbying here accused the US of trying to weaken the protocol with a trilateral agreement last October with Canada and Mexico that allows GM products to be transported with relaxed labeling regulations.

But US deputy undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs Chuck Lambert said the trilateral agreement did not contravene provisions of the biosafety protocol and was a model on how the accord should be implemented.

He said Washington was exploring plans for similar bilateral pacts but denied the US was forcing its viewpoint on other countries.

TERRA.WIRE