Charles Benbrook, a consultant for Consumer Union and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, said the decision was made earlier this week at a meeting between officials of the U.S. Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Food and Drug Administration, which has jurisdiction over labeling issues, has resisted putting labels on food products containing genetically-modified ingredients, such as new corn and soybeans varieties that U.S. farmers have planted in increasing numbers since 1996. FDA has argued that labeling is unwarranted because genetically-modified crops are not materially different from traditional varieties. Benbrook said he learned from Agriculture Department officials that the UnitedStates hopes to develop a labeling proposal in time for an important meeting of the World Trade Organization, the global trade body, in Seattle in November.