Cloned meat no longer needs to be advertised when purchased by Canadians.A 2024 Health Canada post stated it had conducted a consultation on whether cloned cattle and pigs should be considered a "novel" foods anymore.Health Canada then concluded cloned meat "will no longer be considered novel foods and as such are no longer subject to pre-market notification under Division 28, Part B of the Food and Drug Regulations."This means there no longer needs to be a pre-market safety review nor public disclosure. .According to Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, who runs an agri-food analytics lab at Dalhousie University, wrote in an article that cloned meat purchased by consumers is usually the offspring of two separate clones.This, as Charlebois says, will not make the meat any cheaper or more nutritious, it only manages the genetics of the animal meaning "perhaps steadier production, fewer losses from disease, or marginally more uniform quality."However, consumers will not see a difference in taste, nutrition, or price.The issue, Charlebois argues, there is no disclosure, which does not give the consumer the ability to select for themselves."The bigger challenge may not be health — it’s transparency and consumer trust," he told the Western Standard."If Canada doesn’t clearly label or communicate what cloned products are, that’s where controversy can arise down the line.".The "scientific opinion" about cloned meat was given in 2023 to Health Canada, with scientists finding "Healthy cloned animals, their progeny and derived products are no different from other sexually reproduced animals and no new characteristics have been observed in these animals in Canada."Health Canada did not release a media release or public statement on the change — just the update on their website. Charlebois told the Western Standard that although the decision was partly for production efficiency reasons, it's also "more about alignment with international standards."."The United States and parts of Europe have already classified cloned animal products as equivalent to conventionally bred ones, provided they meet the same safety and traceability standards.""Canada’s move is really about catching up and reducing unnecessary regulatory friction for producers."
