http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001218/sc/food_biotech_dc_1.html Reuters Monday December 18 3:01 PM ET U.S.-E.U. Panel Urges Review of Biotech Foods By Julie Vorman WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A panel of American and European Union (news - web sites)biotech experts urged the U.S. government on Monday to adopt stricter regulations requiring new gene-spliced foods to win government approval before they can be sold and also to require that such food be clearly labeled. ``Consumers should have the right of informed choice regarding the selection of what they want to consume,'' said a report released as part of a US-EU meeting on trade, defense and other issues in Washington. ``Therefore, at the very least, the U.S. and the EU should establish content-based mandatory labeling requirements for finished products containing novel genetic material,'' added the report from the diverse panel made up of well-known U.S. and European scientists, environmentalists, biotech industry representatives and farmers. The report proposed broad principles for regulating biotech foods to ensure safety and boost public confidence in the controversial foods. But a trade group representing U.S. food manufacturers and marketers said it opposed the proposals. The panel's recommendations may influence the incoming Bush administration as well as Congress. The U.S. government and the nation's food producers have been seeking ways to make genetically modified foods more palatable to consumers in the United States and in especially in Europe, where genetically modified foods have met heavy resistance. Members of the panel ranged from biotech advocates such as Nobel Peace Prize-winning scientist Norman Borlaug and DuPont vice president Terry Medley, to bio-food critics such as Dan Leskien with Friends of the Earth (news - web sites), and scientist Rebecca Goldburg of Environmental Defense. That recommendation was aimed at the United States, where food companies have vigorouslylobbied against mandatory labels for genetically altered foods. American food giants contendspecial labels would be costly and misunderstood by shoppers, who might interpret them to meanthat bio-foods are less safe. The European Union already requires labels on foods containing ingredients such as gene-altered soybeans, corn, squash or tomatoes. More than a dozen other nations such as Japan, Australia and New Zealand have similar regulations. Members of the US-EU panel said the report reflected their belief that biotech foods have much to offer the world, particularly as foods are developed with enhanced vitamins and other beneficial qualities. But consumers must have confidence that the foods are being adequately regulated for human safety and environmental impacts, the panel said. ``If you want to bring a new technology to fruition, you have to earn the public's trust,'' said Carol Tucker Foreman, a food policy expert with the Consumer Federation of America. ``I think the most important thing is that 20 very diverse people on this panel looked at all theissues and said, 'We think these products can make a contribution and here's how to help them go forward','' she added. Another recommendation from the panel called for mandatory pre-market approval of all new bio-foods -- a step the United States has been reluctant to take. The Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) has promised to issue proposed regulations by the end of the year that would convert the current voluntary consultations between biotech companies and agency scientists to mandatory talks. But the US-EU panel said governments must go farther and require specific data or evidence to show a reasonable certainty of no harm from new gene-spliced foods before they can be sold to the public. Gene Grabowski, a spokesman for Grocery Manufacturers of America, a trade group representing most brand-name food makers, played down the importance of the report. ``This forum is part of a dialogue between the European Union and the United States, and it's going to continue,'' Grabowski said. ``The report is the position of private individuals, not any government.'' The food industry group said it supports current FDA regulations, which require special labels only if a food's nutritional content is changed or some other significant change is made. The FDA has long recognized bio-foods as being no different from conventional foods. ``We're having discussions with consumers all the time in our industry,'' Grabowski said. ``We believe that labels should be based on science and not serve as an encyclopedia.'' U.S. foodmakers have launched toll-free telephone numbers, Internet web sites and brochures to give consumers more information about bio-foods, he said.