Genetically Modified Salmon Approved for Consumption by the FDA

Salmon has just become the first genetically modified animal approved for human consumption in the U.S. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released the approval Thursday.

A very long wait

It was not an instant decision. The Obama administration had been stalling the approval due to consumer concerns. The first filing for its FDA approval was made in 1995 by AquaBounty Technologies. The company’s process allowed the AquAdvantage salmon to grow faster, shortening the three year growth cycle of the farmed Atlantic salmon to just 16 to 18 months. The key ingredients to the faster growth included a promoter from the ocean pout, an eel-like fish. A promoter is a DNA sequence that turns on the gene expression. The other ingredient is the growth hormone taken from the Pacific Chinook salmon, which is a salmon specie that grows faster than other salmon species.

It took AquaBounty Technologies a series of submission of scientific studies for five years before the FDA recommended the approval in 2010. In 2012 the FDA assessed that the technology to develop the salmon will not have a harmful effect on the environment. In Thursday’s approval announcement, the FDA said the nutritional profile of the genetically modified AquAdvantage Salmon has no biologically relevant differences to the other Atlantic salmon that are farm-raised.

There is another stipulation attached to the application’s approval – that the salmon will only be raised outside the United States in two specific hatchery tanks that are land-based in Panama and Canada. 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.

AquaBounty Technologies

AquaBounty Technologies, which is based in Massachusetts, is the producer of the AquAdvantage Salmon. In a statement, its CEO, Ron Stotish said that the fish is a game changer. It brings nutritious and healthy food to consumers in a way that is environmentally responsible, without causing damage to marine habitats and the ocean.

Safe to eat?

The FDA has declared that the salmon is safe to eat, but it’s an ethical issue for some people. Advocacy groups did not take kindly to the FDA decision. A D.C.-based consumer watch group Food & Water Watch released a statement, saying that the approval disregarded the other salmon growers around the world, the members of Congress, scientists and a large percentage of consumers who strongly opposed the genetic alteration of the fish.

The FDA said that it endorses voluntary labeling even if it is not required by law that food containing salmon that is genetically modified should do so. The agency said that it is because several consumers want to know if some food or ingredients come from sources that have been genetically engineered.

There were also some retailers that expressed their support to the general consensus by pledging not to sell the genetically modified salmon.

Image credit:via Wikimedia Commons