Cloned animals
(Last updated December 2011)
Cloning is a type of reproductive technology. It creates an organism that is an exact genetic copy of another organism.
In animal cloning, the genetic material in an unfertilised egg is removed and replaced with the complete genetic material from a mature cell of the animal to be cloned (the donor animal). The egg is then implanted into a surrogate mother who gives birth to an animal identical to the donor animal.
Cloning is different to genetic modification, which is when a gene from one organism is inserted into the genome of another organism to introduce a new characteristic. Because of this difference, food from a cloned animal is not regulated in the same way as food from a genetically modified organism such as a crop plant.
Are there cloned animals in Australia and New Zealand?
In Australia and New Zealand very small numbers of elite breeding stock are cloned to continue the genetic line beyond the normal reproductive life of the donor animal.
Cloned animals do not enter the food chain. The value and high cost of cloned animals means they are unlikely to end up as food.
Cloned animals in other countries
In the UK, meat from a cloned animal and milk from its offspring have entered the food supply. As cloning techniques improve and their use expands, a number of countries are considering the safety of eating food products derived from the offspring of cloned animals, as well as the clones themselves.
In 2008, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a report on animal cloning and concluded that edible products from clones and their offspring are as safe as their conventional counterparts.
In 2008, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) released its opinion on animal cloning, reaching similar conclusions to the FDA. EFSA published further documents in June 2009.
FSANZ has considered these reports and concurs with their conclusions about food safety. We continue to monitor international developments.