The Japanese government says meat and milk products made from cloned cattle are safe for human consumption, “moving the nation one step close to becoming the world’s first to allow such goods on the market.
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According to a report by Food Ingredients Online, Japan’s Health Ministry said in a report last week that “no abnormalities had been found in meat or milk derived from cloning technology.” The report, based on a three-year study, also called for the creation of a system to deal with any problems that might crop up in the future, noting that sales of food made from cloned animals are currently prohibited under a “voluntary” ban urged by the Farm Ministry.
According to a Kyodo news agency survey conducted in December, 33 of the 40 facilities in Japan that raise cloned cattle are planning or considering shipments in the future.
The Health Ministry’s report refers to cows produced using the cloning technique that created Britain’s Dolly the sheep in 1996. However, officials declined to say whether the report would herald “a sea of change in a country known for its fussy consumers and tight restrictions on foods derived from biotechnology.”
