Is FDA Withholding Info on Transgenic Salmon? [1]
Submitted by Anne Landman [2] on
The consumer group Center for Food Safety [3] (CFS) obtained documents using the Freedom of Information Act [4] that it says show that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [5] (FDA) is shutting out the opinions of marine and fisheries experts from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in its rush to approve a controversial, genetically-modified salmon. The AquAdvantage salmon [6], produced by a company called AquaBounty Technologies, is a genetically-engineered salmon that grows to market size in 16-18 months, instead of the usual 30 months required for Atlantic salmon. The food safety group says FDA knowingly withheld a 2003 federal Biological Opinion [7] (pdf) issued by the FWS and NOAA that says raising transgenic salmon in open-water pens is prohibited under the Endangered Species Act [8]. AquaBounty is raising its salmon in land-based pens, but claims that the transgenic fish pose no threat to marine environments. The Biological Opinion, issued in 2003, essentially says the opposite, expressing concern that transgenic salmon pose a threat to wild Atlantic salmon, which are currently listed on the Endangered Species list.