Cloning cows' meat products raise concerns about the safety of genetically modified foods

Following the British Food Standards Agency's confirmation that the offspring of a U.S. genetically modified cloned cow has been processed into meat products into the British food chain, an agency responsible for registering cows and bulls on British farms confirmed on the 5th that American cloned cattle may already have nearly 100 in the United Kingdom." Sons."

After the outbreak of the mad cow disease in the 1990s, the British began to carefully purchase beef products and dairy products. Although experts assured that the cloned cattle progeny meat products are “safe”, many Britons are still worried about this.

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The Food Standards Agency confirmed on the 4th that a total of 8 British "born" cattle were "made of" stem cells from a cow cloned from the United States. The meat products of the two bulls "parable" and "Paratrooper Dundee" may have been eaten. ".

The agency responsible for registering farm cows and bulls, "Holstein UK," announced on the website on the 5th that the American cloned cow has 97 offspring in Britain.

AFP reported that the owner of the “Fables” and “Paratrooper Dundee” was the farmer Karem Innis of Olden in the north of England. "Paratrooper Dundee" was slaughtered in July last year. Its meat products have entered the British food chain; "parable" was slaughtered in May this year, and its meat may have been eaten.

The Food Standards Agency said it is unclear how many cloned bovine stem cells have flowed into the UK from overseas.

The survey began earlier this week when media reports said that a milk product made by a U.S. clone parent "born" cow entered the UK market without any identification.

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Agence France-Presse quoted the relevant laws and reports of the European Union. Any food made from cloned animals and their offspring must be subject to safety assessment and approved before entering the market.

The Food Standards Agency is responsible for approving such "new types of foods", including the cloning of animals and their offspring's meat products and other products. The agency said it has never approved the sale of similar foods in the UK market and has not received a similar application.

Transgenic crops are more common in the United States, and cloned livestock and their offspring's meat products are considered safe. However, in Europe, people generally oppose genetically modified foods and cloned foods.

The Associated Press quoted a latest public opinion survey report, 72% of Italians oppose the consumption of genetically modified foods, the French and Germans also hold similar views.

The news of the cloning of cattle meat products into the British market has caused many people to worry.

The British "Soil Association" organization questions the safety of this food and warns that cloned food will reduce genetic diversity in agriculture.

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The British are concerned that the safety of cloned cattle offspring meat products is not groundless.

In the 1990s, the outbreak of a large area of ​​mad cow disease in Britain triggered the “mad cow disease” and has so far caused more than 100 British deaths. Since then, British consumers have been very careful when choosing beef products and dairy products.

BSE is called "bovine spongiform encephalopathy," a zoonotic disease in which the sites of infection are mostly the brain, spine and eyes. If humans eat products made of diseased animals, they may be infected with CJD, or "mad cow disease." The incubation period of “mad cow disease” can be as long as 30 years, so it is hard to find in the early stages.

David Bowers, member of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said that this matter is related to transparency and should let consumers know, “They can trust the food in the store, and now they doubt it.”

Candbury resident Tludy Smethurst said: "If this (cattle cloned meat products) they are allowed to flow into the market, then what will be the next one?"

"Safety"

In the face of public concerns and doubts, Tim Smith, chairman of the Food Standards Agency, said that the cloned cow's meat products “does not exist” in safety issues.

The "Scottish National Farmers Association" also believes that eating food made from offspring of cloned animals does not pose a threat to human health.

Hugh Pennington, a microbiologist at the University of Aberdeen, stressed that the cloned cattle's meat products and dairy products do not pose a threat to human health. "There is no confusion from the genetic point of view. They and other ordinary Hall Stan Britain's 'registered bull or cow is exactly the same.'

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The Associated Press reported that although the European Union has made strict regulations on cloned foods and genetically modified foods, in fact, edible oils made from genetically modified foods, pigs that eat genetically modified feed, and cheese made from cloned cows' milk produced by offspring have long been quiet. It enters the markets of EU countries in a sound way.

The German food industry federation "BLL" stated that 6-70% of foods on the German market "are related to genetic modification through certain means".

However, many consumers are unaware of this. The European Union regulators did not require farmers that had stockpiled livestock to inform consumers that their livestock had grown up with genetically modified feed. The British Food Standards Agency said that they require manufacturers to sell GM foods to make edible oils. However, it is rare for British restaurants to provide this information to customers when using such edible oils.

The Spanish government strictly stipulates that all genetically modified foods should be tagged with relevant information, but Greenpeace says that few people implement this rule.

The European Commission announced in July that it is entirely up to the member states to decide whether or not to introduce GM crops in whole or in part.

Smiths, the chairman of the Food Standards Bureau, said for the inflow of meat products from cloned cattle to the market: “Even if there is even an efficient police team, crimes cannot be completely avoided. No matter how good the system is, it still needs to rely on the Personal integrity." (Du Fu)