American Scientists have concluded that there is no difference between food from cloned animals and food from conventional livestocks. This particular conclusion has set the stage for the US Government to declare that cloned animals are safe for the human consumption and food supply.

FDA, Food and Drug Administration has indicated that it would approve cloned livestocks in food supply. They concluded that “meat and meat from clones and their progeny is as safe to eat as corresponding products derived from animals produced using contemporary agricultural practices”, FDA scientists Larisa Rudenko and John C Matheson wrote in the January 1 issue of ‘Theriogenology’.

FDA also believes that there is no special label required for food form cloned animals and their progeny. But Consumer groups says that the lebels a must as surveys have shown people to be confortable with the idea of animal meat from cloned livestocks. “Consumers are going to have a product that has potential safety issues and has a whole load of ethical issues tied to it, without any labeling…”, said Joseph Mendelson, legal director of the Center of Food Safety.

Carol Tucker Foreman, director of food policy at the Consumer Federation of America, said the FDA is ignoring research that shows that cloning results in more deaths and deformed animals than other reproductive techniques. The Consumer Federation will ask food companies and supermarkets to refuse to sell food from clones, she said. “Meat and milk from clones have no benefit for consumers, and consumers don’t want them in their foods”, Foreman said.

But FDA scientists on the other hand wrote that by the time the clones reached 6 to 18 months of age, they were “virtually indistinguishable” from conventionally bred animals. Though the final approval for cloned animal meat is months away, the FDA will accept comments from the public after issuing a risk assessment soon. Those in favour of the technology say it would be used primarily for breeding and not for steak or Pork tenderloin.

Clonning lets farmers and ranchers make copies of exceptional animals, such as pigs that fatten rapidly or cows that are superior milk producers. “We clone an animal because we want a genetic twin of that animal”, said Barb Glenn of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.