Web Note: The NOSB voted to ban cloned animals in organic production, but the FDA has said that they will soon allow them in the regular food supply, and that no labels will be required. For more information on cloning, please visit the OCA’s Cloning and Patenting page.

The US could approve cloned animals for use as food in two to three years, according to experts.

But cloned meat is unlikely to appear on supermarket shelves in Britain or elsewhere in Europe anytime soon.

Currently, most cloning is carried out for scientific reasons, but it could one day be used to help improve the quality and efficiency of livestock.

However, observers say cloning is not likely to supercede any of the other techniques used by livestock breeders.

At a news conference in London, scientists said they could think of absolutely no health risk to consumers from eating cloned meat.

Elite animals

Following a five year study, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft ruling last year that meat and milk from cloned animals was safe for human consumption.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is also carrying out its own investigation into the safety of cloned food. 

For more of this article, please visit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6288814.stm