FDA approves first animal to be genetically modified for consumption

This is the first time the FDA approved a GE animal for consumption as food.

The fish is safe to eat, says the US Food and Drug Administration, and would not have a significant impact on the environment in the US – though that may be because it will be reared in confinement in Panama.

“Salmon is excessively critical for our eating methodologies, economy and social legacy to acknowledge anything made in a lab-we need the genuine food and hail Costco for guaranteeing its clients that is the thing that they’ll get when they shop there”, Heather Day, Executive director of Seattle-based Community Alliance for Global Justice, a grassroots gathering concentrated on social equity and manageability, said in an announcement.

FDA’s Review of the GE SalmonThe FDA scientists rigorously evaluated extensive data submitted by the manufacturer, AquaBounty Technologies, and other peer-reviewed data, to assess whether AquAdvantage salmon met the criteria for approval established by law; namely, safety and effectiveness. The salmon is different from all others because the genetic engineering allows the Atlantic salmon to grow faster than non-genetically engineered farm-raised salmon. They worry that it could cause human allergies and the eventual decimation of the natural salmon population if it escapes and breeds in the wild.

Costco joins grocery store chains including Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Safeway, and Kroger in promising not to offer the genetically modified fish, as indicated by ecological gathering Friends of the Earth. If a lawsuit is filed, it is likely that the Center for Food Safety will also challenge the FDA’s decision not to require labels indicating that the salmon is GE.

Despite polling demonstrating that 90 percent of Americans support requiring mandatory GMO labeling, the FDA moved forward with a decision to finalize the existing policy which does not adequately inform consumers of the content of the food they buy. The FDA does not require GE food to be labeled any differently than non-genetically modified foods unless there is a “material” difference.