A new independent website providing European consumers with information on Genetically Modified foods has just gone live.

The EU-funded site, www.gmo-compass.org, claims to be the only one of its kind in Europe and provides an independent, science-based source of information on GMO safety, organisers said.

The site details the applications of GMOs, what safety research is conducted, and how research findings are assessed. Topics include; breeding goals for GM plants, how GM plants are being used, their approval status in the EU and information to help consumers understand GMO labelling and traceability regulations.

There is also an insight into the potential effects of GMOs on human health and the environment, and a glossary of terms used by geneticists and molecular biologists.

Local reports from EU member states are also be included and more will be added during the first half of 2006, organisers said.