March 28, 2007

Independent review blasts FDA findings on cloned meat, dairy

The risk assessment by the US Food and Drug Administration on cloned meat and milk is based on "flawed assumptions and misrepresented findings", according to an independent review.

The FDA recently declared milk and meat from cloned animals is just as safe as products from conventionally-bred herds.

But the Centre of Food Safety counteracted FDA claims, saying the administration only based their conclusion from three peer-reviewed studies on meat from cloned cows or on milk or meat from the offspring of cow clones which presented differences in milk from clones thus prompting more research.

Europe has been watching events in the US closely, and the European Commission has asked the

European Food Safety Authority to conduct its own review of the evidence.

The group added that "despite FDA's claim that there is 'no difference' between food from clones and their progeny and food from naturally-bred animals, most of the studies they reviewed found troubling abnormalities and defects in animal clones which could pose food safety risks".

The non-profit public interest group has already called for the regulatory agency to extend its public comment period on its draft risk assessment of animal cloning, which is due to close on April 2 2007.

A group of food industry associations stated its concerns in a letter to the Commissioner of the FDA earlier this month: "As FDA is not facing any statutory requirement to proceed within a specific timetable, we respectfully request that FDA extend the comment period - commensurate with the scope and complexity of the documents being commented on and the time it took FDA to prepare them - to allow adequate time to analyse the information necessary to prepare a thorough response to the request for comments and to participate fully in the rulemaking process."

The letter, which said it is "in the public interest of the agency to take the time needed to 'get it right'", was sent by groups including the American Bakers Association, the American Frozen Food Institute, the Food Marketing Institute, GMA/FPA, the International Dairy Foods Association, the National Milk Producers Federation, the National Restaurant Association and the Snack Food Association.

Because the introduction of cloned food into the US food supply is such has been a central issue, the associations have been an added element to the growing clamour of food safety coming from public health groups.

A number of food firms have publicly made a stance against cloned products, including leading US dairy Dean Foods. California's largest dairy processor, California Dairies in January 23 has also stated that it "will not accept milk from cloned cows, effective immediately," and another California dairy, Clover Stornetta have announced its ban on milk from clones also in January.