The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
released its long-awaited decision on whether cloned animals should be allowed into the nation's food supply.
The FDA said:
After years of detailed study and analysis, the Food and Drug
Administration has concluded that meat and milk from clones of cattle,
swine, and goats, and the offspring of clones from any species
traditionally consumed as food, are as safe to eat as food from
conventionally bred animals. There was insufficient information for the
agency to reach a conclusion on the safety of food from clones of other
animal species, such as sheep.
FDA today issued three documents on animal cloning outlining the
agency's regulatory approach -- a risk assessment; a risk management
plan; and guidance for industry.
The documents were originally released in draft form in December
2006. Since that time, the risk assessment has been updated to include
new scientific information. That new information reinforces the food
safety conclusions of the drafts.
In 2001, U.S. producers agreed to refrain from introducing meat or
milk from clones or their progeny into the food supply until FDA could
further evaluate the issue. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will
convene stakeholders to discuss efforts to provide a smooth and orderly
market transition, as industry determines next steps with respect to
the existing voluntary moratorium.
The agency is not requiring labeling or any other additional
measures for food from cattle, swine, and goat clones, or their
offspring because food derived from these sources is no different from
food derived from conventionally bred animals. Should a producer
express a desire for voluntary labeling (e.g., "this product is
clone-free"), it will be considered on a case-by-case basis to ensure
compliance with statutory requirements that labeling be truthful and
not misleading.
Because clones would be used for breeding, they would not be
expected to enter the food supply in any significant number. Instead,
their sexually reproduced offspring would be used for producing meat
and milk for the marketplace. At this time, the agency continues to
recommend that food from clones of species other than cattle, swine and
goat (e.g., sheep) not be introduced into the food supply.
The agency has compiled a list of resources and news on cloning
here.
The Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ)
provides deep background on this issue (click the top link on the page):
The
FDA may soon release its decision on whether it will formally sanction
the sale of cloned meat and dairy products, and whether it will require
that the products be specially labeled. The announcement could come any
day, or be several months off.
One
potential timing influence is pending congressional action. In the farm bill, which is still being negotiated, the Senate has inserted language
requiring that FDA conduct more studies of cloned foods before making a
decision. Congress also included language in the recently approved
"omnibus" appropriations bill requesting that FDA continue the current
voluntary moratorium on cloned foods, and requiring several more
studies. FDA may make its decision before the mandatory language in the
Farm Bill action is finalized, which could be weeks or months away.
Another
potential influence is European decision-making. A draft document on
the position endorsed by the European Union's Food Safety Authority is
expected within the next week or two, with a final document possible in
several months. FDA may delay its efforts to determine how or whether
to make its policies consistent with Europe's.
Recent media coverage has touched on the varied influences behind FDA's potential actions. Examples include:
- "FDA to Back Food From Cloned Animals: Move Would Defy Congress's Wish for Delay," The Washington Post, Jan. 5, 2008, by Rick Weiss.
- "Cloned Livestock Poised To Receive FDA Clearance," The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 4, 2008, by Jane Zhang, John Miller, and Lauren Etter.
- "Lawmakers and Consumers Ask FDA To Delay Cloning Ruling," Reuters, Dec. 19, 2007, by Christopher Doering.
The SEJ says that critics question the safety of cloned animals and conventionally-bred animals with cloned parents. The organization provides the contact information for this critic:
Even if the FDA approves cloned animals, the SEJ says, they're not going to show up in grocery stores tomorrow. There are a limited number of animals available, they're expensive, and those animals may be used solely for breeding for a while.
The SEJ names two primary companies working on cloned foods:
And the site says this about a program to track cloned meat:
On
Dec. 18, 2007, the cloning industry announced a voluntary tracking
program that would allow other businesses to find out if they were
buying food from cloned animals (but not their offspring). Examples of
media coverage include:
There's more on the SEJ resource page.
