Cases / Biotech, cloning and de-extinction · United States · 2001–2008
FDA 2008 clone food decision
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
On 15 January 2008 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared meat and milk from cattle, pig and goat clones and their offspring as safe as that of conventional animals and set no labelling requirement.
Declared safe; no labelClone offspring meat and milk: FDA finding
FDA decision of 15 January 2008, as reported by News-Medical.
FDA decision of 15 January 2008, as reported by News-Medical.
Status As of the January 2008 decision: clone-offspring meat and milk declared safe with no labelling requirement; later developments are unverified in the sources reviewed.
What?
The FDA declared meat and milk from cattle, pig and goat clones, and from clone offspring of any species, as safe as conventional and required no label. News-Medical
Where?
United States. News-Medical
When?
15 January 2008, after a voluntary hold by producers that began in 2001. News-Medical
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
None on recordHarmed
None on recordWhy?
The sources reviewed give the FDA's finding of equivalent safety; they do not set out further reasoning.
How?
A regulatory decision with no labelling requirement; a voluntary hold continued on the clones themselves. News-Medical
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who
What happened
The record, in order.
From 2001, U.S. producers had voluntarily kept meat and milk from clones off the market.
On 15 January 2008 the FDA declared meat and milk from cattle, pig and goat clones, and from the offspring of clones of any species, as safe as that from conventional animals. It set no labelling requirement. For sheep it found the data insufficient.
A voluntary hold on the clones themselves continued, but their offspring could be sold immediately.
- 2001U.S. producers begin a voluntary hold on marketing meat and milk from clones
- 200815 January: FDA declares meat and milk from cattle, pig and goat clones and clone offspring as safe as conventional; no labelling requirement
How it looked
What was shown, beside what was recorded.
Shown
- Meat and milk from clones and their offspring were presented as safe as that from conventional animals.U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 15 January 2008 · News-Medical
Recorded
- The FDA decision covered cattle, pig and goat clones and the offspring of clones of any species; the data for sheep were found insufficient.
- No labelling requirement was set.
- A voluntary hold on marketing the clones themselves continued while their offspring could be sold.
Who gained
Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.
Reached nature or the ground
Not published
No figure published.
Gained elsewhere
Not totalled
Currency: USD · Window: 2008. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.
Responses on record
- us-fda (15 January 2008): Declared meat and milk from cattle, pig and goat clones and clone offspring as safe as conventional food; set no labelling requirement. · News-Medical
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What nature saw
Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
Labelling requirement
None
FDA decision, 15 January 2008
Species covered
Cattle, pig, goat
Sheep data found insufficient
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that in September 2008 an FDA spokesperson said clone offspring had "theoretically" already entered the food chain and that there was no way to know, because the products cannot be told apart.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that the EU Council in 2011 accepted labelling for fresh beef only, that Parliament found this insufficient and that negotiations collapsed.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that the European Parliament in 2015 voted by 529 votes for a ban and that no law followed.
- None on record No source reviewed reports a health problem linked to the consumption of clone-derived food; whether any would be detectable is not addressed in the sources reviewed.
Did the harm stop?
Not applicable; no harm event is recorded in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- FDA declares meat and milk from cloned animals safe (report of 15 January 2008)News-Medical · 2008-01-15
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- US sales of medically important antibiotics for food animals rose 16% in 2024 United States · 2015–2024
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (Public authority) — here: Federal regulator; there: published the 2024 sales summary