FDA Bars Imports of GE Salmon
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the import
of genetically engineered (GE) salmon just two months after deeming
AquaBounty Technologies, Inc.’s AquAdvantage® salmon safe for human
consumption. Issued in compliance with the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus
Appropriations Act, the January 29, 2016, import alert directs that “any
shipment of suspected or known GE salmon or product composed in
whole or in part of GE salmon should be promptly forwarded to the
District Compliance Branch.”
Although AquaBounty Technologies produces GE salmon at fish farms
based in Canada and Panama, the company has not yet sold its product
in the United States. But after FDA ruled that the salmon posed no environmental
or human health risks, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)
moved to block confirmation proceedings for the next FDA commissioner
until the agency required labeling for all products containing GE salmon.
“This is a huge step in our fight against ‘Frankenfish.’ I adamantly oppose
the FDA’s misguided decision to allow GE salmon to be placed in our
kitchens and on our tables, and I firmly believe that mandatory labeling
guidelines must be put in place as soon as possible so consumers know
what it is they are purchasing,” said Murkowski in a January 29 press
release. “It seems that the FDA has begun to listen, and I hope this is a
sign that the agency plans to develop these necessary guidelines.” See
Sen. Murkowksi Press Release, January 12, 2016.
Additional details about FDA’s approval of AquaBounty Technologies’
AquAdvantage salmon appear in Issue 585 of this Update.
Issue 592
