Clarity needed on rules governing cloned animal produce - Lyon
August 31, 2010 12:44 PM
Originally published by George Lyon - Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland
Originally published by George Lyon - Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland
George Lyon, Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland, has asked the European Commission to clarify its position on the sale of products from cloned animals across the European single market.
Commissioner Dalli has thrown the farming industry into a state of confusion with his assertion that "foods from the offspring of cloned animals are considered conventional foods and so no specific measure is applicable to them."
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) considers milk and meat from cloned animals to be "novel foods" with suppliers compelled to get authorisation before selling the produce.
Commenting, Mr Lyon said:
"The job of the European Food Standards Agency is to ensure the food chain of the EU Member States is free from potentially harmful influences.
"But with so many national food safety authorities interpreting the rules in different ways, farmers are now left walking in no mans land through a minefield of contradictory advice.
"The Commissioner's intervention, which flies in the face of advice given by the UK FSA, has left us with far more questions than answers.
"The Commissioner must come before the European Parliament to offer reassurance on this matter. If he is really saying that cloning is normal practice then consumers will demand that much more stringent measures are put in place to identify cloned produce."
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats