Livestock Cloning Supply Chain Management

Mark Walton

President, ViaGen

Dave Faber

CEO, TransOva

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement by Mark Walton, President of ViaGen, and Dave Faber, CEO of TransOva:

ViaGen and TransOva Genetics, the national leaders in the livestock cloning industry, have developed the supply chain management program to track cloned livestock. This system will allow marketers to provide consumers with truthful and accurate labels.

Our companies worked with more than 20 groups in the food industry chain to develop a program that addresses the marketing needs of their customers.

This proactive effort, to track clones from birth to death, will be managed through a third party registry. Each time the animal moves from one owner to another, it will be documented in the national registry. It works in the same manner as process-verified food systems like the Certified Organics Program; meat certified Halal; or coffee that is labeled Fair Trade.

With fewer than 600 clones in existence today, consumers can be confident that this system will provide them with reliable information about the status of food products from clones.

This system is not a health or a safety program, as the scientific consensus is clear: food derived from clones and their offspring is as safe as any other food. This safety has been confirmed through a rigorous scientific risk assessment by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as well as two reports by the National Academy of Sciences.

About ViaGen, Inc.: Based in Austin, Texas, ViaGen is a global provider of advanced livestock genetic technologies, including cloning. ViaGen's industry-leading compilation of livestock genomic data and patented breeding and product identification processes are extensively used in the cattle, swine and equine industries to obtain verifiably superior genetics. ViaGen makes livestock genetic technology affordable and accessible to producers throughout the livestock production chain, from farm to fork, offering new opportunities for business to build revenue and for consumers to enjoy unprecedented quality and safety.