January 17, 2008

Asian countries skeptical on safety of cloned meat

Japan will make its own checks on the safety of meat from cloned animals  although it is in no hurry to start. That is despite cloned meat being  deemed safe by US regulators.

A Japanese Agriculture Ministry official said the ministry would have to review the issue by first collecting all available information from the US. The ministry will also act with other relevant Japanese authorities, although the current situation did not warrant any immediate action.

South Korea's National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service's assistant director Wu Man-su said they would study the issue, including whether to allow cloned meat imports. Wu added that since the science of cloning is relatively new, it would be years before the US is ready to export food from cloned animals.

Food safety remains a priority in other parts of Asia.

Taiwan's deputy director of the health ministry's food safety department Hsieh Ting-hung stated that their main concern is safety and that they needed to understand the process of clone production,

Taiwan would adopt a wait-and-see attitude to see how clone meat is received internationally, he said.

The US government ruled on Tuesday (January 15, 2008) that food from cloned animals and their offspring is as safe as other food. The final risk assessment by the US Food and Drug Administration confirmed initiate findings from 2006.

US industry sources estimates four of five years for cloned-derived food to be sold on an industrial scale as animals are cloned, mature and give birth to offspring used for food. 

Japan remains a potential key market for US beef despite its restrictions on US beef due to mad cow disease. Meat industry officials said Japanese consumers are almost certain to be slow in accepting cloned meat due to their conservative palates and strict views on food safety.