In the wake of the Food and Drug Administration’s controversial decision that milk and meat from cloned animals are safe for sale to the public, California State Senator Carol Midgen proposed a bill requiring all these food products to display clear and prominent labeling. The Center for Food Safety and Consumers Union are co-sponsoring the bill.
Rebecca Spector, the West Coast Director of the Center for Food Safety, said consumers deserve to know that the meat and milk they feed their children is safe. “FDA refuses to wait for science to show what’s really happening with cloned animals, it is now up to individual states to protect consumers and their families,” Spector said. “The Senator’s labeling bill will protect Californians through labeling, which restores consumer confidence and choice.”
It’s also under public opinion that food labeling is a necessity. A national survey conducted by the Consumers Union found that 89 percent of Americans want to see cloned foods labeled.
For more information on FDA’s flawed risk assessment, see CFS’s report “Not Ready for Prime Time,” http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/AnimalCloning_PR3_21_07.cfm
The U.S. Senate “Cloned Food Labeling Act,” S.414, is available at: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bill.xc?billnum=S.414&congress=110
More about safe labeling
• Get the low-down on misleading organic food labels.
• Reading the ingredients labels on cosmetics can be difficult. Find out which five ingredients to avoid when buying summer skin care.
• Avoid bringing toxins into your home. Learn how to read the labels on cleaning supplies.