Foods derived from cloned animals and management policies in worldwide

Abstract

Cloned animals are a result of asexual reproduction of animals using somatic cell nuclear transfer. Ever since the first report of a cloned sheep 'Dolly' produced by SCNT, increasing numbers of livestock, such as bovine and swine clones, have been generated worldwide. Foods derived from cloned animals have not been produced yet. However, the food safety of cloned animals has provoked controversy. The EU Food Safety Authority and U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that milk and meat from cloned and non-cloned animals have no difference regarding food safety. However, food derived from cloned animals is considered unsuitable for eating vaguely. Moreover, there were scant information about cloned animals in Korea. Therefore, we surveyed the number of cloned animals worldwide including Korea and summarized the reports for cloned animals and discussed predictable problems.