Cloned-meat controversy in the spotlight ... again

(MEATPOULTRY.com, September 04, 2008)

by Allison Sebolt

NEW YORK – In the aftermath of published news reports claiming cloned meat and other food products deriving from clones may already be in the food chain, 20 food companies iterated to the Center for Food Safety they won't use milk or meat from cloned livestock, according to the Wall Street Journal. Smithfield Foods Inc. and Kraft Foods Inc., among other companies, responded they won’t use milk or meat from cloned livestock via a survey conducted by the C.F.S., a consumer group.

In January 2008, the Food and Drug Administration ruled products from certain cloned animals are safe to eat. "After reviewing additional data and the public comments in the intervening year since the release of our draft documents on cloning, we conclude that meat and milk from cattle, swine and goat clones are as safe as food we eat every day," said Stephen F. Sundlof, D.V.M., Ph.D., director of F.D.A.'s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, in explaining F.D.A.’s final assessment. "Our additional review strengthens our conclusions on food safety."

The United States Department of Agriculture also said shortly after F.D.A.’s announcement earlier this year that it fully supports and agrees with that agency’s final assessment that meat and milk from cattle, swine and goat clones pose no safety concerns, and these products are no different than food from traditionally bred animals, said Bruce Knight, Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, U.S.D.A.

Despite the fact that a strong and varied body of science backs the safety of meat from cloned animals, polls have shown the majority of U.S. consumers are still not comfortable with the notion of eating meat from cloned livestock, according to the WSJ. Meanwhile, recent media reports claims that products from the offspring of cloned animals may be trickling into the food supply, WSJ said.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Tyson Foods Inc. and other companies have publicly stated earlier that they have banned the use of cloned animals in food products. However, many other companies haven't made a similar pledge to avoid using food from the conventionally bred offspring of clones. This may be because, in part, no one is tracking the offspring, WSJ said.

Since the F.D.A. approval in January, U.S. regulators have quietly withdrawn their request for the food industry to voluntarily refrain from selling milk and meat from offspring of clones, the WSJ article claims. A similar request regarding products made from the cloned animals themselves remains in place.

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