These cells could be cloned to produce adult animals in future, preserving a genetic heritage which could be used to adapt farm animals to changing climate or new diseases.
The technology could also be used to produce identical replacements for high-value animals such as breeding bulls if they were injured.
D'Silva is concerned that cloned meat could enter the European food chain even if consumers here reject it. Theoretically, that would be illegal because food imported into the UK, for example, must be produced to the same standards as food produced here. However, cloned meat is essentially identical to non-cloned meat, so the rule would be impossible to enforce.
At a briefing on the technology last year, the cloning expert Professor Keith Campbell, of Nottingham University, who was part of the Dolly team, said: "With cloning we can actually collect cells from these animals, store them and bring them back from the dead, so to speak. We can then use them in breeding programs ... It's a way of maintaining rare breeds without having to maintain the animals."
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