[SoFlaVegans] US FDA Unlikely to Label Cloned Animal Meat, Milk

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US FDA unlikely to label cloned animal meat, milk

Story by Randy Fabi

USA: June 26, 2003

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

 

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cffidylm/newsid/21300/story.htm

 

WASHINGTON - U.S. consumers will most likely not know when they buy

hamburgers, bacon and milk products from cloned animals, a technology

that could be available by next year, government and industry

officials said yesterday.

 

John Matheson, regulatory review scientist at the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration, said the agency would not require labels on cloned

animal products if they are considered as safe as traditional food.

 

" If we find no problems with the products, we have no legal basis to

require labels or have companies differentiate between them, " he said

at an annual biotech industry conference.

 

Cloned animals, such as cattle, sheep and poultry, can be farmed to

provide more milk or eggs than their counterparts. Researchers also

can enhance the nutritional fidyl value of food, including lowering

cholesterol in eggs and leaner meat with enhanced vitamin content.

 

A cloned calf can sell for as much as $82,000.

 

The FDA was expected to release its risk assessment concerning the

new technology later this summer. The report will be the foundation

for new FDA guidelines, which could allow these products to be

available by next year.

 

" These products are perfectly safe, " said Steven Stice, chief

scientific officer of Georgia-based ProLinia Inc. " There's no need

for labels. "

 

The privately owned company, which sells cloned cows and pigs, was in

discussions with mega-pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc., Stice

said.

 

Last year, the National Academy of Sciences found no significant

health risks from cloned animal products. The report did recommend

stronger U.S. government oversight to ensure its safety.

 

Joe Mendelson, legal director for the Center for Food Safety, said it

hoped FDA would allow consumers to make a choice on whether to

purchase cloned meat.

 

" I certainly think consumer views are material and should be a legal

basis for labeling, " he said.

 

How consumers react to cloned animal meat could significantly

influence the commercialization of future biotech products.Erik

Forsberg, vice president of Wisconsin-based Infigen Inc., said

consumer acceptance of cloned animal meat would help alleviate fears

surrounding xenotransplants. The privately owned company produces

cloned cows and pigs in hopes of selling its organs for human use.

 

 

 

 

 

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