US gives GM salmon the final ‘all clear’
THE word’s first genetically modified salmon can now be farmed in the US, following a decision by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to lift its final restrictions.
AquaBounty Technologies, which is based in Prince Edward Island, Canada, described the decision as a milestone for its AquaAdvantage salmon. The company can now go ahead with its farming operations at a land based RAS (recirculating aquaculture system) grow-out facility in Indiana.
Sylvia Wulf, CEO of AquaBounty, said: ‘We will immediately start the process to import AquAdvantage eggs from our hatchery in Canada to begin grow out at our Indiana facility.
‘As FDA notes in this announcement, our salmon was approved by the agency over three years ago based upon a very comprehensive science based review process, which established that our salmon was safe, nutritious, and environmentally sound and met all other regulatory requirements.’
The decision involves deactivating a 2016 import alert over labelling that prevented GE salmon from entering the US.
The FDA said in a statement: ‘This fish is safe to eat, the genetic construct added to the fish’s genome is safe for the animal, and the manufacturer’s claim that it reaches a growth marker important to the aquaculture industry more rapidly than its non-GE farm-raised Atlantic salmon counterpart is confirmed.’
The agency added that, based on ‘the multiple forms of physical and biological environmental containment measures proposed by the company’, AquAdvantage salmon would not cause a significant impact on the US environment.
AuqaBounty, which has been developing its technology for more than 20 years, has produced small amounts of salmon in Panama and Canada, where the broodstock are reared.
The farm in Indiana has been used to grow conventional Atlantic salmon, to prepare the site for the AquaAdvantage product. It is expected to produce 1,200 tonnes of salmon annually when it is fully operating. The company said it is also establishing operations outside of North America with projects in Brazil, Argentina, Israel, and China.
The transgenic fish – engineered from chinook and Atlantic salmon genes – have been on sale in Canadian supermarkets since last year.