US follows EU in clearing way for cloned animal food to reach its supermarket shelves

The US yesterday followed Europe's lead in ruling that food from cloned animals is safe.

Officials said there was no evidence that eating healthy clones of cattle, pigs and goats was a risk.

But the Maryland-based Food and Drug Administration said it did not have enough information to pass cloned sheep as safe.

The European Food Safety Authority, which has similar watchdog powers, recommended last week that meat and milk from cloned animals should be cleared for sale.

EU leaders will make a final decision later this year.

Debate about cloning technology has raged for years. Advocates say it yields better food by replicating prized animals that can breed highly-productive offspring.

Critics say it is another move towards "Frankenstein Farming" and akin to the development of genetically-modified crops.

It is likely that the offspring of cloned animals will be used to provide meat or milk to US consumers.

The clones themselves are thought to be too expensive to produce on a large scale.

The US has an estimated 570 cloned animals but its livestock industry has voluntarily banned marketing food from them.