Keighley environmentalists this week spoke out against cloning in food.

The backlash follows concerns over the process of genetic modification - extracting a gene, copying it and then inserting it into another organism. The worries were noted by members of Bradford council's public health and protection sub-committee last month.

Penny Ward, secretary of the Aire Valley Conservation Soc-iety, warns against food cloning. "It's happening and we are eating such food," she says. "I can feel the waves of public resentment that this Govern-ment is failing to address. We are being used as guinea pigs."

She says the Government intends to approach supermarkets across the country to request access to information on customers through loyalty cards so the detrimental effects of genetically modified food can be assessed.

Chris Menon, manager of the Keighley branch of Sainsbury's says: "I haven't heard about the Government wanting to use our loyalty cards. We do sell products which contain ingredients that have been genetically modified but they are mainly American ingredients which are not labelled and that makes it very difficult to spot them."

Benefits of genetically modified foods include healthier crops, reduced use of potentially dangerous pesticides and chemicals, and more nutritious food. But opponents say the process could lead to unforeseen problems such as unwanted food types and superbugs.

It is understood that the Royal Household is making moves to ensure that no genetically modified food will have the royal seal of approval.

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