Source:  John Strak, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 11/29/10
 

A committee of the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has offered its opinion that the meat and milk of conventional animals, clones or their progeny is unlikely to present any food safety risk. The FSA made a statement about discussions on cloned meat held at the recent meeting of the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP).

The committee considered a “hypothetical” application under the Novel Foods Regulations for the approval of meat and milk from cloned cattle and their progeny. The committee was asked to consider whether the available evidence on clones and their offspring provides a sufficient basis for the evaluation of meat and milk from such animals under the Novel Foods Regulations.

It was the view of the committee that any potential differences between conventional cattle and the progeny of a clone were unlikely to exist from the second generation onwards.

Food Standards Agency Chief Scientist Andrew Wadge commented on the committee’s decisions, "In considering this hypothetical application, the ACNFP has confirmed that meat and milk from cloned cattle and their offspring shows no substantial difference to conventionally produced meat and milk and therefore is unlikely to present a food safety risk. The FSA Board will discuss this issue at its December meeting. The Board will consider the opinion of the ACNFP, the recent European Commission proposal to ban meat and milk from clones, and any other developments, before providing further advice to ministers."

In addition to determining that products made from cloned animals was theoretically safe, the committee also considered that the current evidence on the composition of meat and milk is limited, and further evidence is required on how the rearing of animals in different environments may affect the meat and milk.
The committee thought that consumers may want to see effective labelling of products from clones and their offspring.

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