Members of the European Parliament agreed a new law that will require food and animal feed to be labelled if it contains at least 0.9 percent of GM ingredients.

The law could be adopted by European Union member states in the autumn, allowing the EU to lift a de facto ban on GM products in place since 1999.

The environmental group Greenpeace welcomed the vote, saying it was a "historic victory for consumers" and a good example of Europe standing up to pressure from the United States over GM products.

"This vote is a slap in the face of the US administration, which thought that by bullying and waving the WTO stick Europe, and eventualy others, would swallow its GMOS policy," said Greenpeace expert on GMOs Eric Gall.

"This legislation is a model for other countries, including the US and Canada, where all such freedom and information is currently denied," he said.

European Parliament president Pat Cox said Tuesday "we don't need to be lectured on humanitarian priorities", noting the EU gives three times more aid to Africa than the United States.

The issue has moved rapidly up the political agenda since Washington complained to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the EU moratorium in May.

US President George W. Bush last week said the EU ban contributed to famine in Africa by hampering African efforts to harness biotechnology to fight food shortages, sparking an angry response from the EU.

Opinion polls suggest that European consumers are deeply suspicious of "Frankenfoods". But the US government has been lobbying hard for GM products on behalf of its biotechnology food industry.

TERRA.WIRE