BRUSSELS -- Europe looks more determined than ever to rebuff the U.S. and go ahead with plans to require food companies to label products containing genetically modified ingredients, according to documents filed at World Trade Organization.

In the latest salvo in a brewing trade dispute, the European Union indicated in the documents that it won't back down from its hard-line stance on genetically modified foods, citing "very strong evidence that European consumers are interested to know whether their food is derived from genetically modified organisms." The EU called it "totally justified for labeling to provide them with this information."

The U.S. earlier this year said in an informal complaint at the WTO that the planned European labeling initiative would discriminate against farmers and food processors in the U.S., where bioengineered crops are common. The U.S. has threatened to make its complaint formal -- launching a trade war -- if Europe doesn't kill the labeling measure that has so far won preliminary approval from the European Parliament.

Theoretically, the U.S. could argue at the WTO that the labeling rules constituted an unreasonable barrier to trade. It is far from clear how the WTO would rule on such a dispute, however, as there has never been a similar food-labeling dispute filed at the trade body.

European agriculture and environment ministers will vote on the labeling measure in two weeks. If the ministers approve it, the measure could become law next year. Details of the legislation are still under discussion and people close to the situation said it looked too close to call.

Research and tests in the U.S. and Europe have discovered no ill health effects from eating genetically modified food. Some scientists argue that foods with modified ingredients are safer than their conventional counterparts because the bioengineered products have been studied so extensively. But consumers in Europe, where Greenpeace and other environmental groups have lobbied heavily against the planting of bioengineered crops, are highly suspicious of such products.

Environmentalists contend scientists don't know enough yet to ensure that plants and seeds that have been genetically altered are safe for the environment, or for human consumption.

About 70% of processed food in the U.S. contains genetically modified corn, soybeans or some other crop, according to food industry groups. The crops are popular in the U.S. because they resist pests and weed killers and are easier to grow than conventional crops. Only one such crop is grown commercially in all of Europe, a corn in Spain produced for animal feed.

There is no genetic-modification labeling requirement in the U.S. A measure on the ballot in Oregon in November would require labels on food sold, made or stored in the state that contain genetically modified ingredients, even eggs laid by hens that ate genetically modified feed.

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