European Legislators Are Deadlocked Over Proposed Changes To Novel Foods Regulation

Discussions between the European Parliament and the European Commission on how to update the EU’s Novel Foods Regulation may be hopelessly deadlocked over whether food from the offspring of cloned animals should be banned. The Parliament wants such a ban, but the EC would only ban the cloning of animals for food production. It would allow marketing of meat produced from cloned animals. Unless the two institutions reach a compromise by March 30, “the whole proposal – on which work began in 2008 – will have to be scrapped,” according to a report from EurActive. If that happens, the development of novel foods derived from cloning and other new technologies, would be left “in legal limbo for years to come.”