FSA’s Cop Out on Cloned Animal Oversight Outrages Consumer Watchdog

Today, Food & Water Europe condemned statements from UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) Chair Lord Rooker about food from clones in Wednesday’s FSA Board meeting, where media reports quoted him saying, “You can’t regulate what you can’t count and what you can’t check on. That is an impossibility.”  1

Despite claims that clones are indistinguishable from other animals, studies have shown that roughly 95% of clones die in utero or shortly after birth due to a variety of health complications, and there is insufficient research on the safety of eating meat or drinking milk from cloned animals.

“Consumers’ instinct to reject food from clones is right — it is not properly tested for safety,” says Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Europe. “The FSA admits that it can’t track the technology, so it’s throwing up its hands. That’s not safety oversight—that’s a cop out.”

The group is calling today for immediate moves to trace all imports of products related to breeding clones and their movements in order to prevent them from entering the food chain.

“In reality there is little to discuss. The EU Parliament voted for a full ban on food from both clones and their offspring in July,” said Eve Mitchell, food policy consultant for Food & Water Europe. “The Commission should bring forward that legislation as soon as possible and enact a moratorium until the ban is implemented.”

The comments from the group come on the heels of the application from the Scottish farmer at the center of this summer’s maelstrom over meat from clones entering the food chain illegally now for a license to sell “premium-priced bottled milk” from his clone offspring as early as next year. [2]

“This is an embarrassment for the FSA,” said Hauter. “It underscores yet again the FSA’s impotence in regulating the matter. The license should not be granted, but if it is, this milk must be labelled clearly as coming from clone offspring. Consumers have an absolute right to know where their food comes from.”

For more information, see our updated Cloned Animal Fact Sheet.

Food & Water Europe is a program of Food & Water Watch, Inc., a non-profit consumer NGO based in Washington, D.C., working to ensure clean water and safe food in Europe and around the world. We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink.

Contact: Eve Mitchell, +44 (0)1381 610 740, emitchell(at)fweurope.org