If people shy away from genetically modified corn or cotton, imagine how they would feel dining on animal clones. Yet there is little preventing the introduction of cloned animals into the food chain.
The possibility of encountering Dolly the cloned sheep on a dinner plate near you came up yesterday on the opening day of the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Boston.
The Government's chief scientific adviser, Prof Patrick Cunningham, took part in the session entitled Dolly for Dinner. He presented a paper describing how it would be possible to identify clones in the food chain by using an animal's DNA-based genetic fingerprint.
"Advances in genetic technologies make it possible to trace clones if you wish to do so," he said. "Two key agencies, the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Authority, have said clones are safe to eat. Nevertheless, polls have shown that almost 80 per cent of people say they don't want to eat clones."
Labelling that indicated if the meat was from a clone was an option, but it would be difficult to prove meat was "clone-free" without genetic testing.
It would take no more than the current methods used to confirm whether corn or other grains were from genetically modified organisms (GMOs), he said.
Modified plants have a DNA fingerprint that indicates they are GMO. A similar identifier profile could also be put together for clones, Prof Cunningham said.