January 14, 2008

EU discovers cloned animals to be more prone to diseases

EU has recently announced that products from cloned pigs and cattle do not hold much difference from conventionally reared animals in terms of food safety, yet it found that mortality and disease were significantly higher amongst cloned livestock.

EU's main food watchdog, the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa), said that meat and milk products from healthy cloned animals are safe to eat.

The authority pointed that products from cloned livestock meet the same nutritional range compared to those coming from non-cloned animals.

Efsa also reiterated that there lies no significant difference in food safety between products from cloned animals against normally bred ones.

However, fresh fears on "Frankenstein farming" have been stirred, as Efsa announced that the cloning method adversely affects the health and welfare of the cloned animals.

Yet, the rate of unhealthy cloned animals is expected to decline as cloning technology advances, the authority explained.

Furthermore, no environmental impact was discovered from animal cloning, although the authority said that not much data is available to probe on for this issue.

Efsa's research and official opinion on animal cloning will be look into for future EU decisions relating to the issue.

The watchdog further stated that the draft opinion is based on limited risk assessment as cloning is a relatively new technology.