The Singular Mind

Food from cloned animals may be hitting shelves relatively soon

The FDA has finally concluded that food products from cloned animals like milk or meat are safe for human consumption after years of study. This opens up the possibility of commercial food products made from cloned animals and put into supermarkets. If this occurs, the U.S. will be the first country to allow it.

Many people, however, still have worries about food from cloned animals, even after the FDA's assurances of safety. As some people will obviously not want to eat that type of product, many companies are already thinking about how they can make sure consumers know whether their products have ingredients from cloned animals in them. But while some companies might want to affix extra labels on food from clones, they have to be sure that they are not saying it is any less safe than food from normal animals. Since the FDA has found that the food is indistinguishable, they would not allow any label other than something just stating the fact that it came from clones.

Although some companies are looking at these possibilities already, food from clones is still a little while off. The FDA is still anywhere from several months to several years away from formally approving food from clones. At the moment, there is a voluntary ban on selling products from clones that was put in place in 2001 to allow the FDA more time to study what affect food from clones might have. But within a year, there is a possibility of it ending and food from clones coming onto the market. Once that happens, it will be up to the consumer to decide whether to buy products made with ingredients from cloned animals.

Sources:
New York Times Article
AP Article from My Way News
FDA Study

Labels: Blogger News Network Story

posted by Jeremy @ 2:30 AM