The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled on Tuesday that meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring is as safe as other food, and they should appear on store shelves despite opposition on ethical and health grounds.

“Meat and milk from cloned cattle, swine and goats and the offspring of clones from any species traditionally consumed as food, are as safe to eat as food from conventionally bred animals,” official Randal Lutter of the FDA told a news conference.

The ruling was the first twist after years of continuous debate over the reproductive technology, whose advocates say, would provide top-quality food to consumers coming not from the costly clones themselves, but from the offspring of cloned animals.

Cloned animals are produced by using somatic cell nuclear transfer, meaning, the genetic material of an animal with desirable traits is inserted into an egg, which is then implanted into a surrogate mother.

The decision comes after the FDA reviewed more than 700 studies, which led them to the conclusion that food from cloned animals is as safe as food from any bred animal.

Although the decision has been taken, it could take four or five years before consumers are able to buy clone-derived food on a wide scale, as animals are cloned, mature and give birth to progeny used for food.

The FDA ruling comes after years of waiting in which officials from food safety and animal rights groups, as well as the US dairy industry opposed the idea, fearing its image and exports will be damaged.

The food safety agency says it will not require special labeling on meat and milk from cloned animals, but producers could apply for the right to label their foods “clone-free.”

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said cloned animal foods should not be marketed for the time being, pending consultations on introducing them.

“USDA is encouraging the technology producers to maintain their voluntary moratorium on sending milk and meat from animal clones into the food supply during this transition time,” USDA official Bruce Knight told reporters.

As for Europe, the European Commission expressed its will to consult consumers before taking a decision in May. The European Food Safety Authority said meat and milk from healthy cattle and pig clones is probably safe for humans to eat.

The FDA decision had a negative welcoming from some groups dealing with the safety of food. One of them was the Center for Food Safety, which strongly disapproved the FDA‘s decision on Tuesday.

“The FDA’s bullheaded action today disregards the will of the public and the Senate—and opens a literal Pandora’s Box. FDA based their decision on an incomplete and flawed review that relies on studies supplied by cloning companies that want to force cloning technology on American consumers,” said in a statement, the group’s director Andrew Kimbrell.

Moreover, Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, one of the sponsors of that measure, accused the FDA of acting “recklessly” on Tuesday saying that “just because something was created in a lab, doesn’t mean we should have to eat it.”