Risk Assessments
In January
2008, FDA released a final risk
assessment in which it concludes
that meat and milk from cow, pig and
goat clones and the offspring of any
animal clones are as safe as food
from conventionally bred animals.
FDA’s risk assessment and other
information on animal cloning can be
downloaded from their website at
www.fda.gov/cvm/cloning.htm.
In July 2008,
the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
published its final scientific
opinion on the implications of
animal cloning. EFSA states that
there is no indication that
differences exist in terms of food
safety between food products from
healthy cattle and pig clones and
their progeny, compared with those
from healthy conventionally-bred
animals. EFSA’s report can be
downloaded from their website at
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/efsa_locale-1178620753812_1211902019762.htm.
Novel Foods
In January
2008, the European Commission
presented
a proposal to revise the current EU
rules on novel foods (Regulation
258/97).
The proposal does not include a
specific provision on foods from
cloned animals but classifies foods
that have been produced using new
techniques, such as animal cloning,
as novel. The proposal also
establishes a new centralized
authorization procedure whereby all
novel food applications are
submitted to the European Commission
and then directed to the European
Food Safety Authority (EFSA) before
they can be included in an EU
positive list. This means that
foods from cloned animals would
require a pre-market authorization
before they can be imported or sold
in the EU.
The proposal for a new novel foods
regulation has to be adopted under
the ordinary legislative
(co-decision) procedure, a complex
legislative procedure under which
both the Council and the European
Parliament (EP) have two “readings”
and a “conciliation procedure” to
come to an agreement on the proposed
rules. In its “first reading”
report adopted in March 2009, the EP
proposed to exclude food from cloned
animals and their offspring from the
novel foods regulation and called on
the Commission to propose separate
legislation which would ban foods
from cloned animals. The Council
first reading position was adopted on March 15, 2010
and forwarded to the EP on March 24,
2010 for a second
reading. The Council wants to
keep foods from cloned animals and
offspring within the scope of the
novel foods regulation until the
adoption of specific legislation on
cloning and all its aspects.
On July 7, 2010, the EP adopted its
second reading position. Given
the legislators' diverting views on
cloning, the proposal will go to
conciliation.
Opinions
In January
2008, the European Group on Ethics
in Science and New Technologies
adopted its opinion on the
“Ethical Aspects of Animal Cloning
for Food Supply”.
EGE concludes that “considering the
current level of suffering and
health problems of surrogate dams
and animal clones, the EGE has
doubts as to whether cloning for
food is justified”. In its
1st reading report on the novel
foods proposal, the European
Parliament’s Environment, Public
Health and Food Safety Committee
claims that the cloning of animals
is not compatible with animal
welfare rules and therefore foods
from cloned animals should not be
included in an EU positive list.
On September 3, 2008, the European
Parliament adopted a
resolution calling on the
Commission to prohibit the cloning
of animals for food supply purposes
as well as the import of cloned
animals or derived products.
Links
Reports
