Back to All Media

Mar 8, 2018

For sale in Canada, genetically engineered salmon delayed by politics in US

A trivia question for American food shoppers: AquAdvantage, the genetically engineered Atlantic salmon being sold in Canada, is available in how many U.S. supermarkets? The answer is none, despite being approved as safe to eat by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in late 2015, the first GE animal to be so approved. In fact, the fast-growing transgenic Atlantic salmon won’t make its way to U.S. stores and restaurants for nearly two years, perhaps longer, said Dave Conley, spokesman for AquaBounty Technologies. ... However, wild salmon is a big Alaskan home industry, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, didn't like GMO salmon competing with her state's wild catch. She and other Alaskan officials got Congress to hold up sale of the fish in the U.S., forcing FDA to block AquAdvantage imports until the agency issues new regulations to indicate "genetically modified" on food labels. FDA is mandated to issue that regulation by late July but has not indicated when to expect the rules. AquaBounty expects to comply with FDA requirements, Conley said, but is waiting to see just what the labeling rules will be.  Read the article.