BERLIN: Germany's upper house of parliament gave the green light Friday to a new label that will declare foods that contain no genetically modified organisms "GM Free."

Genetically modified foods are a sensitive topic in Germany, where environmental groups contend that many such crops are unsafe for humans and the environment.

Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, has already approved the law, which is expected to go into effect in March.

Under the law, milk, meat, eggs and cheese will earn the "GM free" badge only if animals did not feed upon any genetically modified products. Animals can still bear it, however, if they were exposed to genetically altered vitamins, amino acids and other additives, as long as there were no available alternatives.

EU law already requires that foods containing genetically modified organisms be labeled as such, which has been cause for protest from the U.S. food industry.

The new law also stipulates that genetically modified corn be cultivated at a distance of at least 150 meters (about 500 feet) from unmodified corn and 300 meters (about 1,000 feet) from organic corn.

Already, farmers who cultivate genetically modified corn in Germany are legally responsible for preventing cross-fertilization with other corn fields. German farmers already have plans to cultivate nearly 2,500 acres (more than 1,000 hectares) of the genetically modified corn variety MON810, which is resistant to the "corn borer" pest.