BRUSSELS, January 18 (RIA Novosti) - An independent European ethics panel has voiced its concerns as to the ethical justification for cloning animals for meat and milk, Belgian media said on Friday.

The European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies said it "has doubts as to whether cloning animals for food supply is ethically justified."

Last week, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), whose 15 members are selected by the EU, published a draft opinion on "the implications of animal cloning on food safety" at the request of the EU's European Commission.

"It is very unlikely that any difference exists in terms of food safety between food products originating from clones and their progeny compared with those derived from conventionally bred animals," the EFSA said.

However, the panel said it would finalize its draft opinion in May 2008.

The European Commission and the 27-nation EU are also set to reach a final decision on whether or not to sanction the consumption of meat and milk from cloned animals.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has labeled such products as safe.

No country has so far marketed food from cloned animals, although thousands of creatures have so far been cloned for scientific purposes all over the world.