Smithfield: no plan to use meat from cloned animals

NEW YORK, Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. meat company Smithfield Foods Inc (SFD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday that despite assurances from U.S. health regulators that meat from cloned animals is safe for humans to eat, it still does not plan to use it.

The world's largest hog and pork producer said the science involved in cloning animals is relatively new and that it will continue to monitor further scientific research on this technology. (Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Derek Caney)