September 26, 2000

Discovery of unapproved variety of genetically engineered corn in brand of store-bought taco shells produced by Kraft Foods prompts new calls for labeling of bioengineered foods and is offering foretaste of some practical difficulties involved in such labeling; has raised questions about reliability of testing, degree to which conventional grains and foods can feasibly be kept separate from those that are genetically modified, and even definition of genetically modified food; issues are already confronting European Union, Australia, Japan and other countries that already require labeling or are moving toward it, with different countries, or even different supermarkets in same country, adopting different standards; in US, where about two-thirds of processed food contains ingrediants from genetically modified crops, US Repr Dennis J Kucinich has seized on discovery made by coalition opposed to bioengineered foods and is sponsoring bills requiring labeling and safety testing of such foods; food industry officials comment; photo (M)

Barak and Arafat Meet The Israeli and Palestinian leaders met for the first time since the Camp David peace talks ended two months ago. PAGE A12 Banned Drug May Return A Canadian company wants permission to market a generic version of a morning sickness drug pulled from the market in 1983. PAGE F1

Abbey Theater of Dublin to present Thomas Kilroy play The Secret Fall of Constance Wilde, about Oscar Wilde's wife, at Barbican Theater, London; 150 works from W J Myers's collection of Egyptian antiquities go on view at Metropolitan Museum of Art; photo; musical tribute to Duke Ellington to be held at Carnegie Hall on Sept 28, in program headed by Sir Simon Rattle conducting Orchestra of St Luke's; Rennie Harris Puremovement company to present New York premiere of Rome and Jewels, hip-hop version of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet; photo (M)

Shot-putter C J Hunter, husband of Marion Jones, denies that he has taken steroids; says that mislabeled nutritional supplement was responsible for elevated levels of performance-enhancing drug nandrolone in his system; photo (M)

Congressional criticism and skyrocketing costs may kill Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's project to build stadium-size laser to create fusion reaction; project, National Ignition Facility, was undertaken with threefold purpose: allowing bomb makers to study physics of nuclear weapons without exploding them, permitting engineers to explore possibility of commerical laser fusion power plants and enabling scientists to probe matter under conditions never before created in the laboratory; photos; drawings (M)