Cloned Meat Is Quietly Getting Closer to Being Sold in Canada — but People May Not Know They’re Buying It

Cloned meat could be coming to a grocery store near you. Whether you’re receptive to the technology or not, you may be none the wiser from looking at the package. Health Canada has made moves to lift restrictions on meat from cloned cattle and pigs, no longer considering it a “novel food,” meaning it could be commercialized without notification or labelling.

Novel foods are “products that are new or changed compared to existing foods,” such as the first Health Canada-approved genetically modified animal (and now defunct), AquAdvantage salmon, which hit the shelves in the late 2010s — with no special labelling required.

Health Canada assesses the safety of all novel foods before they can be brought to market. Based on the scientific opinions published by international bodies, including the European Food Safety Authority and Japan Food Safety Commission, the department concluded “that foods derived from healthy cattle and swine clones and their offspring are as safe as foods from traditionally bred animals.”