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Meat from the offspring of cloned animals could appear in stores across the European Union, with no one being any the wiser, after Member State government representatives early this morning refused the European Parliament’s demand to label clone-derived food products.

The lack of agreement leaves the 1997 rules on novel foods in place, while sending proposals on the sale of new types of foods back for rethinking after three years of debate.

EU Health Commissioner John Dalli said Tuesday it is a “great pity” that talks over food from the offspring of cloned animals broke down, because it opens a pathway for the unregulated entry of such products into the EU market.

Dalli emphasized that “the scientific assessment we have on cattle is that there is absolutely no risk to health” from cloning.

The first mammal cloned from an adult cell, Dolly the sheep, was created in 1996 and since then cows, pigs and goats also have been cloned, raising the question of whether or not cloned animals should be eaten.