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The Food and Drug Administration may soon allow food from cloned livestock
into the nation?s food supply by Cerena Johnson .
While the FDA said it does not look at the ethical aspects surrounding
cloning, focusing more on health and safety issues, concerns have been
raised by various consumer and industry groups.

The North Coast Co-op started a campaign in March providing information to
consumers on the potential dangers of cloning to livestock, and is
encouraging consumers to submit comments and letters to the FDA.

?Our main goal right now is to let consumers know their food is being messed
with,? said Karen Brooks, marketing director of the North Coast Co-op.

The FDA public comment period for people to voice their opinions on cloning
has been extended, due to pressure from trade and consumer groups.

A number of public firms have taken a stance against cloned products,
including the leading U.S. producer of dairy, Dean Foods, and California?s
largest dairy processor, California Dairies.

?It?s hopeful to me that the dairy industry is trying to organize to say it
doesn?t want cloned products,? Brooks said.

The FDA is not recommending that food from clones be labeled, as they say no
distinguishing components are present between the products of clones and
those of other animals.

A cloned animal is an exact genetic copy of a donor animal. Cloning is not
the same as genetic engineering, in which DNA is altered, added or deleted.

According to the Center for Food Safety, a nonprofit public interest and
environmental advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., studies have
shown that abnormalities and defects exist in cloned animals that could pose
food safety risks, while cloned livestock may also not be useful for
breeding.

The center cites an agency statistic that a common abnormality in clones
that can result in stillborn or early death, or death of the mother, occurs
in cows only once in 7,500 instances, while it may occur in up to 42 percent
of cloned cows.

In December 2006, the FDA said a draft risk assessment found the meat of
clones from adult cattle, pigs and goats and their offspring are as safe to
eat as that of conventional animals. The FDA is not recommending that sheep
clones be used as food for humans, due to a lack of information.

?While the livestock industry has been developing cloning for commercial
use, the FDA has asked producers to voluntarily keep food from clones out of
the food supply until we have assessed its safety,? Mike Herndon, a
spokesperson from the FDA press office, wrote in an e-mail.

The FDA said the clones will be used primarily for breeding, to pass on
traits such as disease resistance and higher-quality meat to production
herds. Most of the food that comes from the cloning process is expected to
be from the clones? sexually produced offspring.

Herndon said the FDA does not track the number of cloned animals in
existence.

Livestock have been cloned in Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, New
Zealand, South Korea and Scotland. The FDA said, to its understanding, no
country has yet allowed food from animal clones into their supplies.

The FDA will make a final decision regarding animal cloning after the public
comment period, when they will issue a Final Risk Assessment, Risk
Management Plan and Guidance for Industry.

The FDA is accepting public comments on animal cloning until May 3. Comments
may be sent via mail to the FDA, at the Division of Dockets Management
(HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061,
Rockville, Md., 20852. To submit a comment through e-mail, visit
www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/oc/dockets/commentdocket.cfm.
In both cases, include the docket number 2003N-0573.

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