The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), an agency of the European Union, began operating in 2002. Its permanent home is in Parma, Italy.Its primary responsibility is to provide independent scientific advice on all matters concerning food safety. The Authority assesses risks to the food chain and carries out scientific assessment on any matter that may affect the safety of food and feed in the European Union.The Authority’s work covers the whole food production process ‘from farm to fork’ — in other words from primary production (including the safety of animal feed) to the supply of food to consumers. The remit of EFSA also includes animal health and welfare (both for food producing animals and experimental animals) and plant health and protection. The EFSA gathers information from around the world, keeping an eye on new developments in science. It shares its findings not only with experts and decision-makers but also with the general public. External linksEuropean Food Safety Authority

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Meat and milk from cloned animals moved a step closer to European Union supermarket shelves on Friday after the bloc's top food safety agency said cloned food products are safe to eat. Looks like the EU will have Frankenfood after all?

European and U.S. food safety agencies have deemed cloned pigs and cows safe to eat. Should we all become vegetarians?

Meat and milk from cloned animals pose no special health risks, a draft report by the European Food Safety Agency issued on Friday concluded, a first step toward the eventual sale of such products within the European Union.

The decision removes the last U.S. regulatory hurdle to marketing products from cloned cows, pigs and goats, and puts the FDA in concert with recent safety assessments from European food regulators and several other nations.

Meat and milk from cloned animals seem to pose no special health risks, said a report released by the European Food Safety Agency. It was a first step toward the eventual sale of such products within the European Union.