January 21, 2008

Canada skeptical of cloned meat

Canada will not hurry to make decisions on cloned meat despite US declaration that products from cloned cattle are safe for consumption.

The country's hesitation is fine with farmers and at least one national consumer group.

Bruce Cran of the Consumers Association of Canada said they hope Canada will not immediately endorse the US declaration. He also questioned the consumption of cloned meat.

Dairy farmer Peter Dowling, a member of the union's Ontario Council, said they had questioned it at the National Farmers' Union, and that they did not feel adequate tests have been performed on cloned animals.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had made the safety declaration after years of studies. However, it also said it hadn't reached a conclusion on cloned species other than cattle, goats and pigs.

The FDA also said it would not require meat from cloned animals be labelled, "because food derived from these sources is no different" than food from conventional animals.

Spokesman for Health Canada Paul Duchesne, said the FDA's studies were an excellent step in developing their policy on cloned products but could not say when the government would finalise its decision.