HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong government proposed on Monday that food containing five percent or more of genetically-modified (GM) material be clearly labelled.

But the government has not yet decided if such labelling should be voluntary or mandatory, Lily Yam, secretary of the Environment and Food Bureau told reporters.

While there is no evidence that GM food is unsafe for human consumption, some consumers might be allergic to the contents of a modified food product which incorporates genes from other plants or animals, she said.

"Some groups and members have called for the labelling of GM food to provide more information for consumers," said Yam.

The five percent threshold was selected because a government laboratory had concluded that accurate measurements of GM content could only obtained at that level or above, she said.

In the European Union, the threshold is one percent, she said.

Members of the food trade industry and the public can express their views on the options over the next three months, she said, adding that any implementation of such labelling requirements would be at least two years' down the road.

Greenpeace activists put up a banner outside a government office tower in Hong Kong on Monday demanding mandatory "Labelling Now" for GM food.

GM food is widely available in Hong Kong, said Lo Sze Ping, a Greenpeace campaigner, adding that nine in 10 respondents to a survey conducted by Greenpeace and Oxfam last October called for labelling.

Voluntary labelling for GM foods would not work, he said. "It's only a license to allow companies not to label their products," added Lo.

Greenpeace opposes GM food, saying it could be a possible threat to human health and the environment.

Hong Kong has had a number of food-related scares in recent years ranging from pesticide-laden vegetables to toxic fish.

In 1997, the outbreak of the deadly "bird flu" virus killed six people and led to the slaughter of a million chickens.

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