January 16, 2007 - Milk and meat from cloned animals and their offspring are as safe for human consumption as current animal products, according to the draft of a new policy from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The report indicates that products from “adult cattle, pigs and goats, and their offspring” carry no more risk than products from traditionally bred animals. Since 2001, there has been a voluntary moratorium on the sale of products from cloned animals in order for the FDA to have enough time to study the issue. The moratorium will remain in effect until the FDA finalizes its policy sometime in 2007 after fully reviewing the data and any public commentary on the issue. Products from cloned sheep will continue to be banned, as the FDA notes that there is too little data for sheep to be properly assessed.

FDA’s conclusions are consistent with several reports from the National Academies. Animal Biotechnology: Science-Based Concerns found no evidence of added risk from the products of cloned animals, although it did recommend additional research. Safety of Genetically Engineered Foods: Approaches to Assessing Unintended Health Effects recommends studying the safety of genetically altered food on a case-by-case basis and not base safety evaluations only on the technique employed, whether genetic engineering or other techniques such as conventional breeding practices for desirable traits.

• Animal Biotechnology: Science-Based Concerns (2002)
• Safety of Genetically Engineered Foods: Approaches to Assessing Unintended Health Effects (2004)

• FDA’s News Release