Genetically modified salmon approved in US

According to ABC News, the AquAdvantage is an Atlantic salmon with a Chinook salmon growth hormone that allows it to grow all year and a gene from the eel-like ocean pout to activate that growth hormone.

“The FDA has thoroughly analyzed and evaluated the data and information submitted by AquaBounty Technologies regarding AquAdvantage Salmon”, she said.

The tight restrictions are largely due to fears that if any farm-raised fish were to escape into the wild, it could be detrimental for other salmon. The AquAdvantage salmon are only approved for raising in a pair of facilities located in Panama and Canada, but not within the United States. The FDA said changes to the salmon would allow it to grow faster than other farm-raised fish.

Although GMO varieties of fruits and vegetables have been in US markets for more than two decades, the salmon from Massachusetts-based AquaBounty are the first genetically engineered food animal to receive FDA approval. “In the case of the AquAdvantage Salmon, the FDA did not find any such differences”. “People have a right to know what they’re eating”.

Pictured is a genetically engineered AquAdvantage salmon (back) and non-modified sibling of the same age in front.

The FDA said that the genetically engineered Atlantic salmon is “safe to eat”. The agency said that there are “multiple and redundant levels of physical barriers” in the facilities to prevent the escape of fish.

The salmon, officially named the AquAdvantage Salmon, is a genetically modified version of Atlantic Salmon. Growing salmon in tanks on land reduces water pollution associated with fish farming in the ocean or marine inlets.

Some environmental and consumer groups have been strongly opposed to the genetically engineered food. “Finally, the AquAdvantage Salmon are reproductively sterile so that even in the highly unlikely event of an escape, they would be unable to interbreed or establish populations in the wild”.

After dragging its feet year after year, the Food and Drug Administration finally conceded the unavoidable scientific reality: AquaBounty Technologies’ genetically engineered Atlantic salmon is safe for human consumption. The FDA, however, is not requiring such labeling, which is consistent with the agency’s stance on genetically-modified crops.

“Although the FDA has approved the sale of GM salmon, Costco has not sold and does not intend to sell GM salmon at this time”, the warehouse store chain said in a statement Friday.