Milk, meat from cloned cattle ’safe to consume’

LONDON - Meat and milk from cloned cattle and their offspring is “no different to conventional produce and is safe to consume”, British government advisers have said.

The Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) launched an investigation after reports surfaced in August this year about milk and meat from offspring of cloned cows reaching shops across the country, Sky News reported Friday.

Its report confirmed that any potential differences between cloned animals and conventional animals was unlikely to exist beyond the second generation.

It also said more evidence was needed to show how rearing animals in different environments may affect the meat and milk.

“The ACNFP has confirmed that meat and milk from cloned cattle and their offspring shows no substantial difference to conventionally produced meat and milk and therefore is unlikely to present a food safety risk,” Andrew Wadge, chief scientist at the Food Standards Agency, said.

Under European law, foodstuff - including milk - produced from cloned animals must pass a safety evaluation and get approval before they are sold.