WASHINGTON -- Meat and milk from cloned farm animals are safe to eat, the government said yesterday in a move that paves the way for the sale of the food.
But limits on production are expected to keep the products from reaching grocer's shelves for years, and continuing consumer skepticism prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ask yesterday for an indefinite delay so it can educate shoppers before they face the choice.
After reviewing numerous scientific studies, the Food and Drug and Administration decided that food derived from cloned cows, pigs, goats and their offspring is as safe to eat as products from conventionally bred livestock.
"The likelihood that anything would go wrong from a food safety standpoint is unimaginably small," said Stephen Sendoff, director of the FDA's food safety division.
Industry has been holding off selling food products from clones since 2001. Bruce I. Knight, USDA undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, expected a voluntary moratorium on products from the 600 clones now on farms to continue for several months.
Even after the ban is lifted, it is unlikely that pork chops and steaks from cloned livestock will hit store shelves. The technology is too expensive - $15,000 or more per animal - to use clones for anything but breeding.
The moratorium doesn't apply to the offspring of clones, but given that there are 200 million meat- and milk-producing farm animals in the United States, it will probably take several years before there are enough progeny to have a significant impact on the food supply.
What's more, many in the food industry want to wait before introducing food derived from clones. Food makers and sellers fear a trade backlash. They also worry that the possibility will scare away American consumers in the same way that use of hormones to increase milk production spurred many customers to turn to organic products.
One organic food booster, Rachel Griffith, said she will shun meat from grocers and try to buy directly from local farmers, so she knows it comes from conventionally bred animals. Griffith also said she'd be careful about which organic milk brand she buys to avoid any from clones or their offspring.
"I have two children - two young, growing children - and I want them to get healthier, not sicker, after eating their meals," said Griffith, a 41-year-old health magazine saleswoman who lives in Milan, Ill., on the Iowa border.
