News and Analysis • Volume 2 • Number 1 • March 2008
Cloned food and global trade
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on 15 January that food products from cattle, swine, and goat clones are safe to eat. BioRes has spoken to Gretchen Hamel, Deputy Assistant for Public and Media Affairs, Office of the US Trade Representative, to get a sense of what the implications of this decision might be for international trade.
BioRes: To what extent have food products from cloned animals and their offspring entered the food supply? Are they being internationally traded?
Gretchen Hamel: FDA has determined through its risk assessment that food from clones and all offspring of clones are as safe as food from conventionally bred animals. We are not aware of any specific cases where a product from an animal clone or its offspring has entered the food supply or export channels.
There are only a very small number of animal clones in the US at present – around 500. Those animals that are not purely experimental are intended for use as breeding stock and are too valuable to be used directly for meat production. We understand it is unlikely that products from these animals would enter the meat supply for several years. Industry officials have already indicated that this will be a slow process.
BioRes: Are international standards being developed? If not developed under the Codex Alimentarius, are there initiatives from the business sector to address the issue?
Gretchen Hamel: While we are not aware that the Codex Alimentarius has undertaken a safety assessment for animal clones, there is widespread science to support the safety of animal clones and their offspring. The United States joins a number of other countries that have developed or are developing animal clone risk assessments, all of which lead to the same safety conclusion as FDA. In fact, the European Union’s Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published its clone draft risk assessment January 11 stating that there are no significant risks associated with clones or their offspring. New Zealand, Japan, Argentina, and Canada have each been developing risk assessments for clones with initial findings indicating the same positive conclusion as FDA and EFSA.
BioRes: What role do you think public opinion plays in shaping domestic and international policy on food products from cloned animals and their offspring?
Gretchen Hamel: Ultimately, consumers will decide if there is a market for animal clones and their offspring. While it is still unknown how the public and markets will react to FDA’s final risk assessment, the available science indicates that food derived from cattle, swine, and goat clones and the offspring of any clones poses no safety concerns and is no different from food from conventionally bred animals.
BioRes: Could the course of trade dealings between the US and EU follow a similar path as that for GMOs and hormone-treated beef imports?
Scenario A: If the EU does not approve food products from cloned animals or their offspring.
Scenario B: If the EU rules that clones are safe, but restricts trade based on animal welfare concerns.
Scenario C: If the EU approves the products for import, but requires the products to be labeled.
Gretchen Hamel: On January 11, the European Union’s Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published its clone draft risk assessment which reached the same safety conclusion as FDA stating that there are no significant risks associated with clones or their offspring. The United States will encourage the EU to base its policy on EFSA’s safety conclusion.
BioRes: What influence could US and EU decisions on food products from cloned animals and their offspring have for the global trade of those products, particularly for developing countries?
Gretchen Hamel: While the United States and Europe were among the first to announce risk assessments concluding the safety of animal clones, many countries are developing animal clone risk assessments, all of which lead to the same safety conclusion as FDA and EFSA. While it may take somewhat longer for these safety authorities to finalize their assessments, initial findings indicate the same positive conclusion that there are no significant risks associated with clones or their offspring. The science should continue to speak for itself.