Labels Weighed for Food from Clones

With the Food and Drug Administration having declared that meat and milk from cloned animals are safe, opponents of food from clones are shifting their fight to how such fare is labeled.

Although the FDA said last week that it will not require special labels on foods from clones, legislation already introduced in the Senate could force the agency's hand. Short of that, many consumers are demanding that the agency allow food from conventional animals to be labeled "clone-free" -- a marketing move that could dash industry hopes of getting beyond the public debate over clones.

Separately, some consumer groups are wondering aloud how the FDA will live up to its promise to keep an eye on the quickly evolving field of animal cloning and protect the public from unexpected problems.

The agency has a strategy for doing so, laid out in a "risk management plan" released last week alongside its larger "risk assessment." But its plans depend heavily on the cooperation of the companies making the clones, an approach that critics say is less than reassuring.

Bruce I. Knight, undersecretary for marketing at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which now has the task of helping to get food from clones to the market, expressed optimism last week that producers and consumers will find common ground.

"We'll be working closely with stakeholders to ensure a smooth and seamless transition into the marketplace for these products," Knight said.

Read the full Washington Post story here.