Findings of a U.S. government study
that would help pave the way for the sale of milk and meat from
cloned animals was "flawed" and failed to adequately check for
possible side-effects, a consumer group said on Wednesday.
Gloria, the first calf born to a cloned cow, Vitoria (L), is seen on a government farm outside Brasilia in this October 4, 2004 file photo. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration study that found milk and meat from cloned animals was safe to eat was 'flawed' and did not adequately check for possible side-effects, a consumer group said on Wednesday. (Jamil Bittar/Reuters)
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The Center for Food Safety's report said the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration's risk assessment of food from cloned
animals used data that was "selectively reported to fit
predetermined conclusions" and relied heavily on unpublished
data from two cloning companies.
The consumer group urged FDA to ban food or feed from
cloned animals until the government conducts more safety
testing on possible side-effects and addresses concerns over
animal cruelty and ethical issues tied to the technology.
"I think the process was heavily influenced by industry ...
and it was unnecessarily rushed," said Charles Margulis, who
wrote the report. FDA "needs to go back to the drawing board
and bring a lot more stakeholders in the process."
The December draft ruling by FDA would allow the sale, for
the first time, of food made from cloned cattle, pigs and
goats. Cloning animals involves taking the nuclei of cells from
adults and fusing them into egg cells that are implanted into a
surrogate mother.
At present, these products cannot be sold, and the ban
remains in place until a final ruling is issued. FDA's proposed
draft is currently open to public comment.
An FDA spokeswoman said the agency has received the Center
for Food Safety's document and is reviewing it, but that she
can not comment any further.
Advocates of livestock cloning say it will improve the
quality of steaks and dairy products by propagating
disease-resistant animals who can produce lean and tender meat
or make more milk.
Barb Glenn, a spokeswoman for the Biotechnology Industry
Organization, said additional studies released on cloning since
December support the conclusion that milk and meat products
from these animals are safe. She added that FDA's risk
assessment was subjected to peer review by outside experts and
an editorial board of a scientific journal.
FDA's report "is a very exhaustive and intensive analysis
of all the world's available data, hundreds of scientific
studies independently analyzed by the agency and all available
transparently to the public," said Glenn.
The Center for Food Safety said in its report that FDA was
unable to find the necessary studies needed to look at the
safety of meat and milk produced from clones. It said FDA
omitted or downplayed findings that contradicted its assumption
from other studies it reviewed, including whether defective
clones can be identified and removed from the food supply.
"FDA's review finds so little data, and so many
inconsistencies in the studies cited, that any safety
conclusions are based more on faith than science," the report
from the Center for Food Safety said.
Dean Foods Co., the largest U.S. dairy processor and
distributor, said last month it will not sell milk from animals
that have been cloned even if it were allowed, because of
ongoing consumer concerns .
© 2007 Reuters
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