A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel has reportedly declined to take action or make any recommendations about the safety of genetically modified (GM) salmon at the conclusion of hearings that drew considerable media and public attention. A Massachusetts based company has been trying to bring its AquAvantage® salmon to the market for more than 10 years. If it succeeds, the fish, which reportedly grow to full size in half the time as conventional salmon, will be the first GM animal sold for human consumption. According to a news source, FDA’s Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee indicated that it lacked sufficient safety data to make a determination and suggested that the government undertake a more rigorous analysis of potential health effects and environmental impact. Agency documents made available before the hearing reportedly indicated that FDA was prepared to conclude that no biologically relevant differences between GM salmon and conventional salmon…
Tag Archives fish/seafood
A coalition representing more than 40 consumer, environmental and scientific groups has submitted a comment to the Canadian General Standards Board Committee (CGSBC), objecting to several provisions in a proposed Canadian Organic Aquaculture Standard. According to a press release, the joint letter alleges that the draft standard “is contrary to the basic principles of organics as it would allow certification of net pen farmed salmon” and other carnivorous finfish. The signatories take particular umbrage at the sections relating to net pen production that would reportedly permit (i) antibiotic and pesticide use; (ii) “uncontrolled” waste disposal into the ocean; (iii) unlimited use of “sustainable” wild fish in feed; and (iv) feed containing 30 percent or less “non-organic, unsustainable sources” if organic sources are not available. The letter also raises concern about “the spread of disease and parasites lethal to wild fish,” as well as the possibility of escaping farm fish and…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a briefing packet in advance of public meetings to discuss a new animal drug application for genetically engineered (GE) salmon. Produced by AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (ABT), the AquAdvantage salmon contains genes from Chinook and ocean pout that accelerate maturation. Additional details about the September 19-21, 2010, meetings appear in Issue 362 of this Update. According to the FDA briefing packet, “[T]here are no material differences in food from ABT salmon and other Atlantic salmon.” The assessment therefore concludes that “triploid ABT salmon is . . . as safe as food from conventional salmon,” although it recommends further allergenicity studies for diploid salmon because the ones provided were of “low quality.” In addition, an environmental impact statement (EIS) has found that the fish “are not expected to have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment.” As the EIS summary notes,…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced two public meetings to consider the labeling of food derived from genetically engineered (GE) salmon. During the first meeting slated for September 19-20, 2010, the Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee will address general scientific issues surrounding GE animals, statutory and regulatory constraints, and “a new animal drug application (NADA) concerning AquAdvantage salmon produced by AquaBounty Technologies, Inc.,” which has inserted Chinook and ocean pout genes into Atlantic salmon to accelerate maturation. In addition, FDA has called a September 21, 2010, public hearing to explain “the relevant legal principles for food labeling and to solicit information and views from interested persons on the application of these principles to food derived from AquAdvantage Salmon.” FDA has specifically invited participants to consider the following: (i) “Which facts about the AquAdvantage Salmon seem most pertinent for FDA’s consideration of whether there are any ‘material’ differences between foods…
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and nearly two dozen Gulf Coast organizations have requested that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) “strengthen the current protocols and data relied on to determine whether seafood is safe for consumption and when to re-open areas for fishing” after the massive oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. Now that some fisheries have reopened, NRDC is concerned that existing testing and assessment protocols are insufficient to protect human health and safety. The organizations call for the agencies to include chemical monitoring in their seafood analyses, contending that cadmium, copper, lead, and mercury have all been detected in crude oil studies. The August 17, 2010, letters request that the agencies (i) “ensure there is comprehensive monitoring of seafood contamination”; (ii) “ensure public disclosure of all seafood monitoring data and methods”; and (iii) “ensure that fishery…
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg has released statements to support the reopening of Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi state waters to commercial fishing. According to Hamburg, “we are confident all appropriate steps have been taken to ensure that seafood harvested from waters being opened today is safe and that Gulf seafood lovers everywhere can be confident eating and enjoying the fish that will be coming out of this area.” Meanwhile, some are questioning whether inspector sniff tests are sufficient to ensure the safety of seafood from Gulf of Mexico waters. Experts reportedly say that the smell tests are an efficient and inexpensive way to test for fish safety and claim they are currently the only way to test fish for chemical dispersants. At least one oysterman and shrimp and crab fisherman was not convinced, saying, “If I put fish in a barrel and poured oil and Dove detergent…
In this literature review, The New Yorker’s Elizabeth Kolbert recounts the decline of bluefin tuna and other aquatic species due to overfishing, technological advances and lukewarm governance by authorities like the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). According to Kolbert, the world passed “the point of what might be called ‘peak fish’” in the late 1980s, when the global catch topped out at 85 million tons. “For the past two decades, the global catch has bee steadily declining,” she warns. “It is estimated that the total take is dropping by around five hundred thousand tons a year.” Kolbert thus turns to several books on aquatic ecosystems and ocean sustainability to explain the confluence of cultural, historical and technological factors that have brought whole fisheries to the brink of extinction. To this end, she trawls such watery tomes as (i) Saved by the Sea: A Love Story with…
The Catfish Farmers of America (CFA) has reportedly released a commissioned report that evaluates the human health risks associated with catfish consumption. Presented to lawmakers and backed by Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), the report identifies several major hazards for aquaculture fish, including “pathogenic microorganisms, antimicrobial/drug residues, and environmental chemicals.” In particular, the findings cite regulatory surveillance testing that revealed illegal antibiotics, drugs and other chemicals in imported fish but not in the domestic aquaculture supply. “The use and resulting presence of these antibiotics can cause microorganisms to gradually become resistant to the antibiotics and their ability to treat human infections is thereby decreased,” states Exponent, Inc.’s Center for Chemical Regulation and Food Safety, which authored the report. The report thus recommends that freshwater aquaculture “should have an inspection system that differs from other seafood systems,” with an emphasis on “prevention of contamination across the entire catfish production,…
U.S. Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.) has called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to respond to reports that the April 20, 2010, oil spill has contaminated the marine food chain in the Gulf of Mexico with toxins such as arsenic. In a July 13 letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, Markey expressed concern “that the mixture of oil, dispersants, arsenic and other toxic compounds are having effects on seafood that may not be detectable for months.” Markey, chair of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, said researchers have uncovered droplets of oil found inside crab larvae harvested from gulf waters near Pensacola, Florida; Galveston, Texas; and Grand Isle, Louisiana. “In some areas, 100 percent of the larvae recovered contain droplets of oil hydrocarbons, a major concern given that crab is a favorite food for both humans and multiple fish species that live in the marshes,”…
“The Food and Drug Administration [FDA] is seriously considering whether to approve the first genetically engineered [GE] animal that people would eat—salmon that can grow at twice the normal rate,” reports New York Times biotechnology correspondent Andrew Pollack in this article about the decade-long regulatory process. Pollack identifies the petitioner as a Waltham, Massachusetts, company named AquaBounty Technologies, which has now submitted “most or all of the data the [FDA] needs to analyze whether the salmon are safe to eat, nutritionally equivalent to other salmon and safe for the environment.” The fish under review is an Atlantic salmon that contains “a growth hormone gene from Chinook salmon as well as a genetic on-switch from ocean pout.” As AquaBounty Chief Executive Ronald Stotish explained to Pollack, the accelerated maturation would not result in “salmon the size of the Hindenburg,” but would help bring fish to market in one half the usual…
