Bill calls for labels on food from clones

WASHINGTON -- A Maryland senator yesterday introduced a bill that requires labels for food from cloned animals and their offspring, giving consumers the option of boycotting the products.

The bill introduced by Senator Barbara A. Mikulski , a Democrat , follows similar legislative proposals at the state level -- including in Massachusetts -- and comes in advance of the anticipated lifting of a ban keeping such products off grocery store shelves.

Mikulski's bill requires food distributors to add labels saying "This product is from a cloned animal or its progeny." The labels would be placed on cheese, milk, meat, and other food in supermarkets and restaurants. Violators would face civil penalties.

Representative Rosa L. DeLauro , Democrat of Connecticut and chairwoman of the House Appropriations Agriculture subcommittee , is considering sponsoring a bill with a similar aim, according to a staff member.

Only a few hundred cloned animals are being raised now, but dozens of the cloned livestock are in Maryland, Mikulski's home state. Ranchers, abiding by a voluntary ban imposed by the Food and Drug Administration , have agreed not to let the animals enter the food supply. The FDA in December preliminarily determined that meat and dairy products derived from most cloned animals and their offspring are safe. The agency is expected to finalize that ruling by year-end, allowing sales.

"I am strongly opposed to the FDA approving meat and milk products from cloned animals for human consumption," Mikulski said. "If cloned food is safe, let it onto the market, but give consumers the information they need to avoid these products if they choose to."

The biotechnology industry and companies that produce clones for ranchers seeking genetically identical copies of prized livestock anticipate consumers will warm up to the technology -- once they understand it is just the newest innovation in the rapidly changing field of reproductive science.

But according to national polls and early comments filed with the FDA, consumers remain uneasy with the idea of buying cloned products unknowingly. And companies like the ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's are eager to advertise their dairy products as clone-free.

"You need only look to the market for organic foods to see that the public wants healthy, natural foods," consumer Michael Murphy wrote to the FDA, one of nearly 3,000 comments on the topic sent to the agency so far. "You are stewards for the public consumer, not the food or drug industry. Please try to remember that."

Diedtra Henderson can be reached at dhenderson@globe.com.