Alaska’s Senate delegation today reached out to the Food and Drug Administration, advocating that the federal agency extend the 60-day comment period on an Environmental Assessment (EA) of genetically engineered salmon an additional 60 days, given the holiday season timing of its announcement, the current Senate transition period and the economic importance of the issue to Alaska. Strengthening their case, they were joined by Senators from Oregon, Washington and Maryland in pushing for more time.
The letter was sent to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, and asks that the original 60-day public comment period be extended by an additional 60 days to allow more time for the public to review and respond to the FDA’s Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).
In the letter the senators co-signed, they wrote:
“While the AquaBounty Technologies proposal has been under consideration for some 15 years, the surprise publication of the draft EA and FONSI on Dec. 26, 2012, came in the midst of the holiday season when the public was more concerned with family matters than reviewing a 144-page, highly-technical scientific document.
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