(BRUSSELS) - Europeans are generally opposed to meat from cloned animals, feeling not enough is known about the long-term effects of eating it, according to an EU survey published Thursday.

The Eurobarometer study showed that more than eight out of 10 EU consumers believe "we don't have enough experience about the long-term health and safety effects of using cloned animals for food" and that the long-term effects of cloning are unknown.

More than half the respondents, 58 percent, said that cloning animals for food production could never be justified, though a large minority thought animal cloning justifiable in order to preserve rare species.

Last month the European Parliament urged the EU's executive to prohibit "Frankenstein food."

More than 25,000 European citizens were polled for the survey in all 27 EU member states.

EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said the survey provided "valuable insights into the attitudes of EU citizens toward the use of animal cloning technology for food production."

She added that the survey findings would be considered along with other opinions from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Group of Ethics (EGE).

Eurobarometer: Europeans’ attitudes towards animal cloning

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