FDA talks genetically modified salmon

Businessweek.com reports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers met for a second day Sept. 21 about whether to recommend approval of genetically modified salmon for humans to eat.
If approved, it would mark the first time a genetically modified animal has been approved in the U.S.
Waltham, Mass.-based AquaBounty Technologies, the developer of the genetically modified salmon, believes that, if approved, the fish could help reduce pollution, disease and other problems associated with saltwater fish farms, as well as provide an alternative source of seafood to help reduce the impact of overfishing.
Opponents worry that the fish could be a threat to the environment and consumer health.
This being new ground, the FDA is regulating genetically engineered animals as it would a new veterinary drug, which means that much of the research and information about the product is being kept confidential, said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch in Washington, D.C.
“We don’t know if it’s safe for humans to eat and the only research that has been done was done by the company,” according to Hauter. “The FDA is an under-resourced agency that has had so much trouble with the regulatory system for foods — we’ve had tainted eggs, poisonous peanuts and other contaminations -—and is now taking on something in a very non-transparent way.”
AquaBounty creates its salmon by using a growth gene from the Chinook salmon and a gene “promoter” from another type of fish, said John Buchanan, AquaBounty’s director of research and development.
While it typically takes about three years for salmon to grow to market weight, AquaBounty’s salmon get there in about 18 months, Buchanan said.
“We have done a tremendous amount of work geared toward regulatory approval to show that the fish is healthy and safe,” Buchanan said.