LONDON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- U.K. scientists say meat and milk from cloned cattle are safe to eat, after reports that meat from the offspring of a cloned cow was sold to U.K. consumers.
Britain's Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes said it believed the food was unlikely to present any risk, the BBC reported Friday.
Committee scientists said there were no significant differences between meat and milk from cloned animals and that obtained from normal livestock.
Farmers in the United States, South America and Asia can breed from cloned livestock to increase milk and meat production, but farmers in Europe who want to introduce the products of cloned animals into the food chain require specific authorization.
The European Commission has proposed a ban on meat and milk from clones and their offspring.
Some European farmers say denying them the option of using cloning technology puts them at a disadvantage, while critics of cloning say there are strong ethical and health concerns to ban its use.
"There are many unanswered questions on the issue of cloning animals -- both ethical and practical -- and insufficient regulation," a spokesman for the U.K. Soil Association said.
"Not only does cloning have a negative impact on animal welfare, we also have no long-term evidence for the impacts on health," he said.
