April 8, 2008

Voluntary ban on sale of clone products remains

The voluntary suspension of selling meat and milk from cloned animals to consumers will not be lifted anytime soon, said the USDA.

In January, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that products from cloned cattle, swine and goats and their offspring were as safe as milk and meat from traditional animals.

Prior to that, farmers and ranchers had followed a voluntary moratorium on the sale of clone products.

After the FDA ruling, the USDA asked the cloning industry to extend the ban for a transitional period expected to last several months.

Once the ban is lifted, it could take three to five years before clone-derived food are offered in the market because animals need to be cloned, and then mature and give birth.

There are currently 600 clone animals existing in the US.