Producer and importing countries alike have been grappling with the problem of managing shipments in which GMO material is accidentally commingled with non-GMO crops.

The problem typically arises with shipments of soybean, rapeseed, cotton and corn, with the incidence increasing along with the rising number of biotech plants authorised for commercial production in different countries.

"In the previous meeting, we only agreed on a list of requisite data and information to share," Chieko Ikeda, a Japanese representative and a director at the health ministry, told a news conference.

"This time...we agreed that member countries and product applicants should make available data and information on a FAO portal site and that the FAO site is in principle open to public," she said, referring to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

The guideline agreed in the task force's seventh meeting also made it clear that it is up to individual nations to determine how low the acceptable level is for GMO material, Ikeda said.

The draft guideline agreed after a five-day meeting at this suburban city east of Tokyo is to be reviewed in June by the Codex commission established by the FAO and the World Health Organisation with responsibility for compiling safety rules to constitute the food code "Codex Alimentarius".

Unless the commission returns the draft to the task force for further discussion, it would become a formal one for assessment of low level presence of GMO plant material, Ikeda said.

Codex rules are recognised by the World Trade Organization as an international reference point for the resolution of disputes concerning food safety and consumer protection.

GMO CROPS WIDESPREAD

The United States, the world's biggest producer of GMO crops, initially raised the issue of low level commingling of unauthorised GMO crops at importing countries.

The European Community, in the previous meeting, proposed sharing data and information on authorised GMO crops to help promote fair practices in the food trade.

By Friday the task force also agreed on two other issues -- draft guidelines for safety assessment of foods derived from GMO animals, and foods derived from plants modified for nutritional or health benefits.

The Codex commission is to review these issues as well in June after receiving comments from member countries.

More than 10 million farmers use GMOs globally to use less pesticide or herbicide and raise crop yields.

Twenty-two countries grow genetically modified crops, with GMO soybean varieties, far more popular than any other GMO plants, taking a 64 percent share in the world's soybean acreage, according to US-based International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).