The United States’ government’s new ruling clearing the way for genetically engineered (GE) salmon to be sold in the U.S. is garnering praise from AquaBounty and biotech organizations, and criticism from food safety, fishery, and consumer advocates.
On 8 March, the United States Food and Drug Administration lifted its 2016 import alert on AquaBounty’s genetically engineered AquAdvantage salmon. The decision came after the United States Department of Agriculture issued its final labeling guidelines on GE products, satisfying the requirements of the 2016 Omnibus Appropriation Act that was preventing the FDA from allowing GE products into the country.
“With the deactivation of the import alert, AquAdvantage Salmon eggs can now be imported to the company’s contained grow-out facility in Indiana to be raised into salmon for food,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement.
That news was met with praise from AquaBounty, which suffered some losses related to the operation of a new plant in Indiana that couldn’t utilize eggs based in Canada due to the import alert.
“We are delighted that FDA has lifted the import alert, which will allow AquaBounty to begin producing and marketing AquAdvantage Salmon in the U.S.,” Sylvia Wulf, CEO of AquaBounty, said in a statement from the supplier. “We will immediately start the process to import AquAdvantage eggs from our hatchery in Canada to begin grow out at our Indiana facility.”
More than 95 percent of the approximately 350,000 tons of Atlantic salmon consumed in the U.S. is imported, Wulf noted.
“FDA’s actions will allow for production and sale to begin here in the U.S., bringing opportunity for investment in rural America, creating American jobs, while also reducing dependence on seafood imports,” she said.
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) also praised FDA’s decision.
“While long overdue, this milestone paves the way for future innovations that contribute to a more sustainable food supply for a growing world population and lessen the impact on our environment,” the group said.
However, other companies and organizations are criticizing the decision, saying the labeling rules don’t go far enough to let consumers know the product they are consuming is the product of genetic engineering.
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), criticized the decision, calling the FDA’s lift of the import alert “short-sighted” and “wrong-headed.” In response, she has introduced the Genetically Engineered Salmon Labeling Act to enhance labeling rules on the product.
“USDA’s new guidelines don’t require adequate mandatory labeling and don’t suffice as giving consumers clear information. Instead, they will only confuse people,” Murkowski said in a statement.
If successful, the legislation would ensure that any GE salmon products in the U.S. market are clearly labeled “genetically engineered” in the market name, in addition to the labeling rules issued by the USDA.
“I continue to have serious concerns about splicing DNA from two animals to produce a new marketable fish, essentially creating a new species,” Murkowski said. “American consumers deserve to know what they purchasing, and ultimately eating. I am not going to back down and will continue my fight to ensure that any salmon product that is genetically engineered be clearly labeled.”
Advocates for wild salmon fisheries in the U.S. have also taken umbrage to lift of the import alert. The United Fishermen of Alaska (UFA) calls the lift of the alert on “frankenfish,” without requiring clear labeling showing the products are genetically engineered, is a “disservice to consumers and a blow to Alaska’s hardworking fishing communities.”
“We strongly support the efforts of our Congressional delegation to ensure that GE salmon is clearly labeled, giving Americans the information they need to make informed decisions about the seafood they purchase to feed their families,” the UFA said.
George Kimbrell, legal director of the Center for Food Safety, told SeafoodSource that the organization “does not believe FDA has fulfilled the congressional requirements necessary to lift the import prohibition”.
“FDA’s reliance on USDA’s separate bioengineered disclosure regime is inadequate, since that labeling does not provide for genetically engineered food labeling, and allows the bioengineered disclosure to be through QR codes rather than clear, on-package text,” Kimbrell said.
FDA’s decision to lift the import ban “demonstrates a continued arrogance that humans can dominate nature,” Rose Marcario, CEO of Patagonia, an outdoor apparel company that advocates for environmental issues, said in a statement to SeafoodSource.
“Scientists and watchdog groups indicate that genetically modified salmon pose serious risks to health, wild fish populations, local fishing economies and the environment — and labeling laws won’t go into effect until 2022, leaving citizens in the dark,” Marcario said. “Instead of opening the market to high-cost, risky technology like GMO salmon — particularly in this time of weakened government oversight — we need to reinvest in protecting our wild rivers and wild fish.”
