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Mar 8, 2018

One hurdle for AquaBounty could go, but others remain

Controversial genetically engineered (GE) salmon pioneer AquaBounty Technologies could be cleared to begin US salmon sales if a continued prohibition against its imports isn’t inserted into the next federal budget, the company says. However, an Alaskan senator who was crucial in tweaking a 2016 budget bill that led to the import ban says that she will continue to fight for the company’s salmon to be labeled as genetically engineered ahead of any US sales. Speaking to an audience at the recent Aquaculture America conference, Dave Conley, the Maynard, Massachusetts-based company’s communications director, said that language inserted into the bill authorizing the US federal budget for 2016 banned genetically engineered salmon imports into the US until the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides guidelines on labeling. Based on the language, the FDA issued an import alert -- meaning AquaBounty, which currently grows out its salmon in a small-scale production facility in Panama, can't bring it into the US Without similar language in this year’s budget, the import ban will be lifted, Conley said.  Read the article.