'Food From Cloned Animals Seems Safe, a Panel Finds'

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Meat and milk from cloned animals seem to pose no special health risks, said a draft report released Friday by the European Food Safety Agency. It was a first step toward the eventual sale of such products within the European Union.

“It is very unlikely that any difference exists in terms of food safety between food products originating from clones and their progeny compared with those derived from conventionally bred animals,” the report said. . . .

Friday’s decision was particularly important because the United States Food and Drug Administration is also expected to rule this month on the safety of products from cloned animals. It, too, is expected to conclude that the products are safe. That could allow commercial production of such products to move forward. There is currently a moratorium, although a fledgling agricultural cloning industry in the United States is waiting for a green light. . . .

In practice, the process produces a relatively high proportion of deformed animals that cannot survive, although scientists with the European Food Safety Agency said such rates were likely to decline as the technology improved.