This allows farmers to raise the fish to be ready for consumption in half the time a non genetically modified salmon would be.
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In addition, the FDA determined that food from AquAdvantage Salmon is as safe to eat and as nutritious as food from other non-GE Atlantic salmon and that there are no biologically relevant differences in the nutritional profile of AquAdvantage Salmon compared to that of other farm-raised Atlantic salmon. The fish will take at least two more years to reach consumers, though a few major supermarkets, like Kroger and Safeway, have already pledged not to sell the engineered salmon.
“FDA supports voluntary labeling and is providing this guidance to assist manufacturers that wish to voluntarily label their foods as being made with Atlantic salmon or ingredients derived from Atlantic salmon that has or has not been genetically engineered”, the FDA noted on its website.
AquaBounty, the company that makes the new salmon, claim their farmed fish will be good for the environment, since they need about 25% less food and can be grown closer to the people who will eat them, reducing their product’s carbon footprint. The Maynard, Mass., biotechnology company, now majority-owned by Intrexon Corp., developed and patented the (mostly) Atlantic salmon with genes from faster-growing chinook salmon and a sea eel.
At the moment, AquaBounty’s only approved production facility is in Panama.
It has been genetically engineered, so that it can grow faster than a normal salmon.
Ronald Stotish, AquaBounty’s CEO, said the long-awaited decision means the company can provide a steady supply of salmon in a more environmentally responsible way than traditional ocean-based fish farming.
In 2013, while the salmon was still under review by the federal agency, Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s, Aldi and a few regional chains vowed to never carry the GE fish.
AquaBounty Technologies has first asked the FDA in the 1990s. The facility in Canada handles the breeding of the salmon, which will then be brought to the facility located in the mountains of Panama where it will be reared to full size.
There are several discussions about the ethical and legal issues presented by Genetically Modified Foods that gets approved by the Food and Drug Administration would most likely be a long shot.
Hours after the approval one U.S. consumer group, the Centre for Food Safety, said it would sue in an attempt to reverse the approval. The agency said the Canadian government will also be conducting inspections.
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Activist groups have also expressed concerns that genetically modified foods may pose risks to the environment or public health.
