BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Union agriculture ministers have told the European Commission to draft a regulation on the labeling of cattle feed containing genetically engineered materials.

The move is the latest attempt in a series of EU measures to stem the growing tide of public discontent over what are widely seen as lapses in safety management in the food chain.

"Consumer concerns over recent episodes of dioxin contamination in Belgium, use of sewage sludge in animal feeds in France and Germany, and imports of hormone-treated beef from the U.S. are contributing to a generalized sense of anxiety over food," a leading biotechnology figure told BioWorld International. "This is provoking increasing pressures for legislation."

A 1997 EU regulation on novel foods already has created a procedure for the authorization of food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) intended for human consumption and imposes labeling requirements. But there are no similar measures for animal feed. Austria, one of the most consumer-sensitive countries in the EU, put the suggestion for a new rule before ministers at the EU Agriculture Council in Brussels at the end of September.

The Austrian discussion paper argued that on grounds of consumer policy "there is a vital need to improve community animal feed labeling measures." It backed its argument by referring to an Agriculture Council decision in June to consider how animal feed labeling measures could be tightened in light of the dioxin-in-food crisis in Belgium.

"Now the European Commission will have to add this new rule to the existing patchwork quilt of EU rules on GMOs," said the industry official who requested anonymity. "The EU legislation on biotechnology has emerged piece by piece, often in response to anxieties rather than as part of an overall strategy."

The fierce attention being directed at food safety is seen in the decision to hold a major debate Oct. 5 in the European Parliament, which will open with a statement by the new president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, on what action the commission intends to take to ensure better protection for consumers.