Cloned meat and milk ’safe for consumption’

LONDON - Meat and milk from cloned cows is safe for consumption, suggests a panel of experts.

The panel concluded that there was no material difference between meat and milk from standard animals and products from cloned specimens.

Andrew Wadge, the chief scientist at the Food Standards Agency, said an independent study had shown that there was no difference between ordinary cattle and cloned cattle.

Wadge’s statement was in response to a study by the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, an independent body that examines all new food products for the FSA to assess whether they are safe to go on sale.

Studies of possible issues over allergies, toxins and possible side-effects of eating cloned meat “did not highlight any issues of concern”, said its report.

“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 Telegraph quoted Wadge as saying.

Many in the farming community believe that cloning is nothing more than a sophisticated breeding technique, no more controversial than artificial insemination.

A spokesman at Dairy UK, said: “The evidence is now piling up that it is safe. Whether it encourages any farmers to try to battle against public opinion and submit an application to sell milk remains to be seen.” (ANI)