The AquAdvantage salmon has been genetically modified to grow twice as fast as regular salmon, so it reaches market weight sooner.
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“It’s not going to be on the shelf tomorrow”, said Jaffe, who agrees with the FDA that the genetically engineered salmon would be perfectly safe to eat.
Lucy Sharratt of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network said the approval of the AquAdvantage Salmon means production of the fish eggs could ramp up at the AquaBounty facility in Souris, P.E.I. FDA, in effect, said that those foods are no different from other foods and shouldn’t be held to any different standards. He repeatedly has pushed for delays in the FDA approval process, telling The Washington Post in a 2012 interview that he hoped such hurdles eventually would “break that company”. If the genetically engineered fish were introduced in the wild, there’s concern that it could outperform or interbreed with wild species. “We are deeply disappointed with the FDA’s decision to approve the AquaAdvantage salmon”, Michael Hansen, senior scientist with Consumers Union, said in a statement. Naturally, critics are calling the salmon “frankenfish”, and those opposed to GMOs are anxious that this move will open the floodgates in terms of other genetically modified animals.
Opponents fear that engineered fish could escape from their farms and might alter natural ecosystems. First, the alterations could change the plant or animal in ways that could be harmful for people who eat them. Typical Atlantic salmon produce the growth hormone for only part of the year. The company AquaBounty has sought FDA approval for their salmon products for the last 20 years. Among the requirements the sponsor had to meet are that food from the fish is safe to eat; the rDNA construct (the piece of DNA that makes the salmon grow faster) is safe for the fish itself; and the AquAdvantage Salmon meets the sponsor’s claim about faster growth. “The FDA is issuing two guidance documents that explain how food companies that want to voluntarily label their products can provide this information to consumers”.
The FDA said the salmon will be allowed to be raised only in land-based, contained hatchery tanks at two facilities in Canada and Panama, and that other facilities in the US or elsewhere can not breed or raise the salmon for human consumption.
Kroger Co, the nation’s largest traditional grocery chain, has “no intention of sourcing or selling genetically engineered salmon”, spokesman Keith Dailey said.
Of course, the future of the fish will depend on whether food manufacturers sell them – and whether consumers buy them.
“There remain legitimate ecological concerns over the possible consequences if these GM salmon escape to the wild and reproduce, despite FDA assurances over containment and sterility, neither of which can be guaranteed”, he said.
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One reason the FDA doesn’t think transgenic fish need to be labeled is because there’s no “material difference” between genetically modified salmon and any other, meaning its nutritional profile and texture are the same.
