The majority of British consumers think it is important that genetically modified (GM) ingredients are labelled on food packaging, according to new research.

A report published by the UK government's Food Standards Agency (FSA) found two-thirds of people hold this view, despite the fact just a small proportion look for GM data on products.

Peter Melchett, policy director at the Soil Association, stated the findings prove the public are interested in what's going into their food, adding: "This is a major blow to Owen Paterson's GM policy. The FSA figures show a large majority of consumers believe GM food labelling is important."

In December, Mr Paterson - the government's environment secretary - suggested UK consumers regularly eat GM products and claimed there isn't a single piece of meat being served in a typical restaurant "where a bullock hasn't eaten some GM feed".

Under EU regulations, foods containing GM ingredients such as flour, glucose syrups and oils need to labelled, while this is not the case for goods such as milk, eggs and meat.