FDA says cloned animals safe

WASHINGTON (AP) — Don’t fear the clones. The FDA says meat and milk from cloned animals are just as safe as products from livestock bred the old-fashioned way.

The agency says healthy adult clones are “virtually indistinguishable” from their naturally-bred counterparts.

The decision takes down the last hurdle to allow companies to market products from cloned cows, pigs and goats. It also puts the FDA in the company of food regulators in Europe and in several other nations.

But it will be years before many products from cloned creatures reach store shelves. At $10,000 to $20,000 a pop, cloned cows are a lot more expensive than ordinary ones.

Plus, several large food companies have said they won’t sell meat or meat from cloned animals because of consumer anxiety about the technology.