By Stephen Castle

The European Food Safety Authority pulled back on Thursday from giving milk
and meat from cloned animals a clean bill of health, making it less likely
that such products could reach store shelves in Europe anytime soon.
The final report from the authority, an independent advisory body, was less
reassuring about safety than a draft in January. An earlier assessment by a
European ethics committee was negative.

The European Commission, which must decide whether to approve such products,
will take both reports into account.

The findings also contrast with those of the United States Food and Drug
Administration, which concluded this year that such products were safe ?
although a voluntary moratorium on marketing them remains in place.

Europeans seem likely to take an even more cautious approach, similar to
that followed with genetically modified crops ? which has led to years of
trade friction with the United States. Surveys show resistance in Europe to
biotechnology remains high, especially when it comes to food.

While cloning animals is still a young and inefficient technology,
scientists expect it to improve. In theory, the procedure can produce
meatier cows or pigs that are better able to resist diseases.

But in its statement Thursday, the authority said that ?uncertainties in the
risk assessment arise due to the limited number of studies available, the
small sample sizes investigated and, in general, the absence of a uniform
approach that would allow all the issues relevant to this opinion to be more
satisfactorily addressed.?

Some of the same points were mentioned in the draft report, but they were
given less weight.

A spokeswoman for the authority, Karen Talbot, acknowledged that there was a
change of emphasis in the new findings, which followed months of
consultations with industry bodies, trade and farming associations, consumer
groups and nongovernmental organizations.

?The conclusions are not fundamentally different,? she said, ?but, after the
consultation, they have acknowledged more clearly what they do know and what
they don?t know.?

The chairman of the authority?s scientific committee, Vittorio Silano, said
that for cattle and pigs, food safety concerns were ?unlikely.? But, he
added, ?the evidence base, while growing and showing consistent findings, is
still small.?

The opinion Thursday is one of three pieces of advice that will be
considered by the commission, which would have to give authorization for
food from cloned animals to be marketed within the 27-nation European Union.

Another opinion emerged in January in a report by the European Group on
Ethics in Science and New Technologies.

It said that there were ?doubts as to whether cloning animals for food
supply is ethically justified.?

It added that it did ?not see convincing arguments to justify the production
of food from clones and their offspring.?

The food safety authority?s report Thursday also noted health and animal
welfare problems associated with cloning. In practice, the process produces
a relatively high proportion of deformed animals that cannot survive,
although such rates will probably decline as the technology improves.

The third element to be considered by the commission is an opinion survey,
which is expected to be available in the fall.

?We are gathering the pieces of the puzzle. Then we will consult with the
member states, stakeholders and the European Parliament,? a European
Commission spokeswoman on health issues, Nina Papadoulaki, said.

During its consultation process, which began after the draft report was
released, the food safety authority said that it had received 285
submissions from 64 interested parties, including individuals, organizations
and national risk-assessment bodies.

In a statement issued after a Feb. 7 meeting, the panel noted that the main
issue ?was the strength of the evidence base on which to reach conclusions.?

?A related point made by a number of participants was the need for ongoing
research into cloning,? it added.

In January, the F.D.A. concluded that meat and milk from clones of cattle,
swine and goats were as safe to eat as food from conventionally bred
animals. It asked the cloning industry to adhere to a voluntary moratorium
on putting cloned products into the food chain to prepare for a smooth
transition.

The European Commission said the latest opinion pointed to unresolved
issues.

?The very preliminary reaction to this report is that it gives rise to
increased concerns on aspects of animal of animal health and welfare,? it
said. It said that because of the absence of data, there were some open
questions on food safety.
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