One whopper, hold the clone!

Consumers squeamish about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent decision that meat and milk from cloned cattle, goats and pigs are safe to eat may have to keep their eyes peeled when at the market.

That’s because the federal agency says it won’t require labeling that indicates whether products come from clones or the animals’ offspring. The only sure-fire way for consumers to tell the difference may come from the food industry, whose producers can voluntarily place a “clone-free” label on their products.

The FDA’s preliminary risk assessment of cloned products last week has rankled animal-rights organizations. Meanwhile, scientists from Consumers Union have chimed in, calling the agency’s findings “woefully inadequate” because they are based on data from just 43 dairy cows, 16 beef cattle and five hogs.