'No clone' hard to enforce in food supply

Adopting a "clone-free" diet may not be possible for most U.S. consumers as replicated cows enter the meat and dairy supply chain.

Cloning livestock is expected to become a big part of agribusiness now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has concluded that products from cloned animals are safe to consume.

"The lack of effective governmental oversight and tracking could mean

consumers will lose the ability to choose clone-free products," Whole

Foods spokeswoman Margaret Wittenberg told the San Francisco Chronicle Monday.

Some consumer groups are calling for higher scrutiny of cloned food. They say there has not been adequate study of whether or not the chemical makeup of cloned food is indeed safe or if the process causes subtle changes that could impact human health.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has offered to assist producers with a labeling program, but even some organic food companies told the Chronicle they were uncertain they would be able to guarantee their products would not come from cloned animals.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International