WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) called on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach not to approve cloned food for public consumption without following directives from Congress to conduct additional studies on its safety and economic impact before releasing it into the food supply. Senator Mikulski’s letter follows reports that the FDA could approve food from cloned animals for American shelves any day now, against congressional advisement and public response.

Senator Mikulski included language strongly encouraging the FDA to delay any major decision on cloned food pending an United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) study in the fiscal year 2008 omnibus package that passed Congress yesterday. For more information, go to: http://mikulski.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=289462.

Last week, the Senate also overwhelmingly passed Senator Mikulski’s amendment to the Farm Bill (H.R. 2419) to halt the FDA’s endorsement of the use of food from cloned animals. The provision calls for greater intellectual rigor and more time to review the impact of bringing cloned food into the nation’s food supply, including two studies before the FDA can issue its final decision. For more information, go to: http://mikulski.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=289130.

The text of the letter is below:

Dear Dr. von Eschenbach,

Don’t try to pull a fast one. Don’t make a final decision on cloned foods without conducting additional studies and following Congressional directives which ask for more information and a scientific peer review of the draft Risk Assessment before the FDA issues its final risk assessment and lifts the current voluntary ban.

I have strong reservations about the FDA allowing meat and milk products from cloned animals into our food supply – and most Americans agree with me. Scientists from National Academy of Sciences admit this is brand-new science. They caution the Federal Government and recommend you monitor this technology for potential harmful health effects. You received thousands of public comments asking for more information and an independent analysis of the draft Risk Assessment.

Based on the concerns raised in these comments, Congress passed legislation on December 18, 2007 in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill and on December 13, 2007 in the Farm Bill requiring additional studies on the effects of cloned foods and a peer review of the initial Risk Assessment before FDA releases its final decision. This legislation mandates further study before FDA can make its final decision on allowing cloned foods to enter the food supply.

Last year I urged you to wait to lift the voluntary ban on cloned food and take all appropriate steps to evaluate the potential health and safety effects of these products before you allow cloned animals into our food supply. Now, the entire Congress has spoken.

Your job as Commissioner of the U.S. 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. What’s the rush? There is no urgency to issue a final decision, but there is a potential for unintended consequences if the FDA acts too quickly.

I urge you to withhold your approval of cloning until the studies commissioned by Congress are completed and food safety issues are resolved with long-term, independent and transparent testing. I look forward to a prompt reply.