"Furthermore, there is no credible evidence that human health can be damaged by eating DNA sequences created by the genetic modification of ingredients," it said.

The policy statement comes as Britain awaits the first results from government-sponsored field trials.

Britain is due to make up its mind later this year over whether or not genetically-modified crops should be grown commercially. But shoppers, bruised by a string of food scares such as mad cow disease, are wary. Royal Society Vice-President, Professor Patrick Bateson, said that it had not seen any evidence to contradict a review of GM plants and human health last year, which found that such foods were safe to eat.

"The public have a right to decide whether they want to buy GM foods, and are entitled to have access to sensible and informed advice, based on sound science," he said.

"It is disappointing to find a group like Greenpeace stating on its website that 'the risks are enormous and the consequences potentially catastrophic', without offering any solid reasons to support such a claim," he added.

Greenpeace said it had commissioned and published a report from the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands, which specialises in life sciences, on uncertainties and unknowns around GM crops.

"This has been submitted to the science review and is available on the Internet. What a pity Professor Bateson hasn't read it," Greenpeace campaigner Ben Ayliffe said in a statement.

Some scientists say gene technology could solve world hunger, with GM crops that produce higher yields and are insect-, disease-and drought-resistant.

Opponents say growing such crops could change the face of the countryside, through cross pollination with traditional varieties.