Letter to Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach

Mikulski Opposes FDA Endorsement Of Consumption Of Meat And Milk Products From Cloned Animals

Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) today sent a letter to Acting Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach opposing the FDA's expected endorsement of the use of meat and milk from cloned animals for public consumption. Senator Mikulski urged Dr. von Eschenbach to release the research used to justify an FDA endorsement, which has been delayed for several years.

The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach,

I am very concerned that you are preparing to endorse the use of meat and milk from cloned animals for public consumption. I am strongly opposed to the FDA approving meat and milk products from cloned animals. These products have not been proven safe for consumers and are a threat to animals. In light of these concerns, I urge you to take all appropriate steps to evaluate the potential health and safety effects of these products before they are released to the public.

Although the FDA is actively promoting the safety of food products from cloned animals, we still have not seen the data to back this up. In fact, we have been waiting to see this data for more than three years and the FDA still has not released the full risk assessment, despite promises from Commissioner Crawford that we would receive it in 2005. In the meantime, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has released two reports saying that we do not have enough evidence to assure that these products are safe for humans and animals and that this process needs close scrutiny.

I ask that you release the data that your agency has been using to promote the safety of these food products. I would also like answers to the following questions:

1. Has the FDA has conducted its own studies to meet the recommendations of the NAS? If so, why haven't these studies been made public?

2. How will the FDA guarantee a safe food supply to the American public if the agency refuses to regulate and closely monitor this new process?

3. How can the agency monitor safety, or the public make intelligent food choices, if these products are not properly labeled?

4. Why has the FDA taken a public position on the safety of products before it has completed and made public a risk assessment supporting such a statement?

Just because a scientist can manufacture food in the laboratory, should Americans be required to eat it? Must we be compelled to eat anything a scientist can produce in the laboratory?

Your job as Acting Commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration is to guarantee the safety of our food. Though many aspects of food safety are beyond your control - this is not. We do not know enough about the long term effects of introducing cloned animals, or their offspring, into our food supply. As a researcher and a scientist you cannot allow an eager industry to force a questionably scientific process on an unknowing public.

I look forward to a prompt reply.

http://mikulski.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=265761