Lawmakers Urge FDA to Halt Approval Process for GE Salmon
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has called on the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) to stop the approval process for genetically engineered
salmon. Fifteen members of the House of Representatives and eight
members of the U.S. Senate signed separate letters to FDA Commissioner
Margaret Hamburg expressing economic and environmental concerns over
the fast-growing fish.
“We are concerned that the FDA’s review of GE salmon uses the same criteria as it would for approving a veterinary drug,” noted the Senate letter, adding that “the lack of transparency in the approval process is extremely disconcerting given that approval of GE fish is likely the first step toward approval of many more GE animals for human consumption.”
The House recently approved an amendment prohibiting FDA from using
money to approve GE salmon applications in fiscal year 2012 and, according
to the letters, similar language has been drafted for consideration by the
Senate. “Given the strong and ever-growing Congressional opposition to the
approval of GE salmon in both chambers, we conclude that spending more
time and additional taxpayer money on reviewing GE fish would not be in the
public interest,” the House letter said. Currently under FDA application review,
AquaBounty Technologies seeks to produce Atlantic salmon containing
Chinook and oceanpout genes that accelerate maturation. Details were
covered in Issue 362 of this Update.
