The Food and Drug Administration will decide if something is fishy with genetically engineered salmon.
Aqua Bounty, a Massachusetts based company, has developed what they say is a bigger better fish. They want to market the salmon nationally claiming it has same flavor, texture, color and odor as the conventional fish. Its an Atlantic salmon with a growth hormone from a Chinook salmon that allows the fish to produce growth hormone all year long. The engineers were able to keep the hormone active by using another sequence from an eel-like fish, an ocean pout, that acts like an "on switch" for the hormone, which conventional salmon produce only some of the time.
The Associated Press reports the fish grows twice as fast as the conventional variety, but according to federal guidelines the fish would not be labeled as genetically modified if the agency decides it has the same DNA as conventional salmon.
So far the FDA says they see no biologically relevant differences between the engineered salmon and conventional salmon, and there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will come from its consumption.
Dr. Michael Hansen, senior scientist at Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, says the fish should be labeled for tracking purposes. He added that the agency has the authority to demand the labels, citing previous rules that allowed foods to be labeled so people with religious or cultural sensitivities could avoid them. According to a CU online poll, 95% of those responding are in favor of labeling.
Gregory Jaffe of the Center for Science In The Public Interest said there was no evidence from the data provided that the two fish were different enough they be labeled as such, though Jaffe urged the FDA to ensure the fish is somehow branded so consumers know what they are eating.
The two big fish concerns: potential allergies caused by the genetic engineering, and the impact of genetically altered fish on the environment. Aqua Bounty says the fish would be bred by sterile females in confined pools where the potential for escape would be low.
According to Whole Foods Market , with locations in Cranston and Providence, the FDA reports as much as 75% of processed food in the United States may contain components from genetically modified crops. In 30 other countries around the world, including Australia, Japan and all of the nations in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production of GMOs due to environmental impact and concerns about GMO safety.
If the FDA, which could take months to decide, approves the sale of the salmon, it will be the first time the government has allowed modified animals to be marketed for human consumption. The fish could be in grocery stores in two years.
Comments