"I'm here to urge the Europeans to come to grips with it (GM foods)," he told reporters after talks with Finnish officials in Helsinki. Finland currently holds the EU presidency.

"We would like the governments, particularly the European Commission,... to develop a transparent, systematic approval process that is based on science and not on anxiety."

The EU has suspended authorisation of new genetically modified crop strains from the United States in response to an outburst of public concern over food safety in the wake of the mad cow disease in Britain and dioxin poisoning in Belgium.

Aaron said he understood the fears of Europeans, but stressed it was a paradox Europe was punishing U.S. producers for home-grown food scandals.

No scientific proof was found by the U.S. watchdog, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), that U.S. modified foods were harmful and Europe should also take a scentific approach, he added.

COUGHS AND SNEEZES

"Not a rash, not a sneeze, not a cough, not a watery eye has been developed from this (GM foods), and that's because we have been extremely careful in our process of approving them," Aaron said.

American consumers had nothing against GM food because they trusted the FDA, while Europe lacked a credible system of approving foodstuffs.

"There is no system at all in Europe," he said. "There are individual national systems, (but) there is no food and drug administration in Europe, and maybe there is time for some of these institutions to be put together."

Under the current EU system, committees of national experts decide whether to grant approval to new strains of genetically modified crops, several of which are approved for sale in Europe. Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler said last month that a new independent agency may be needed to oversee food safety policy in the 15-nation bloc.

Aaron is due to meet some of the newly appointed EU Commissioners in Brussels on Friday in a bid to ease trade tensions between the United States and the 15-nation bloc.

He made clear he expected more understanding for the U.S. viewpoint from Commission President Romano Prodi's team than demonstrated by its predecessors.

"I hope the new Commission will take a new look and that it will help us resolve some issues," he said.

Apart from modified foods, the two sides argue on issues as diverse as EU farming subsidies, data protection in e-commerce and ways of reducing jet noise levels.