USDA

This week, livestock cloning companies ViaGen, Inc. and Trans Ova Genetics introduced a supply chain management program to identify cloned animals as they enter the food chain. The program acts as a marketing claim, similar to other process-based programs in ag such as USDA's Certified Organic Program or Halal Meat Certification, but its aim is to allow companies in the food chain to identify and possibly exclude cloned animals.

In late December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the meat and milk from cloned cattle, goats and pigs are safe and do not require any special labeling. The announcement drew immediate protest from consumer groups, which criticized the agency for reaching a sweeping safety conclusion based on data from relatively short- term studies on fewer than 100 cloned food animals. They also cited the high incidence of birth defects among cloned animals.