GM fish are safe to eat, says FDA prior to public meeting

Wednesday, September 08, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: GM fish, FDA, health news

(NaturalNews) Eager to thrust untested genetically-modified (GM) salmon on the public, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently made a preliminary announcement that Aqua Bounty's "AquAdvantage" salmon is safe to eat, despite a total lack of evidence proving this to be true. The FDA is set to discuss the issue at a three-day public meeting beginning on September 19, but has decided to announce in advance its baseless decision in favor of the "Frankenfish".

AquAdvantage salmon is genetically engineered to grow twice as fast as real Atlantic salmon. Company officials insist the GM fish is safe, sterile and identical to real salmon. It also insists that the GM fish poses no threat to the environment.

But since no safety studies have verified any of this to be true, such claims are entirely baseless. And since the company's entire existence depends on AquAdvantage getting approved, the claims deserve further scrutiny and legitimate scientific testing.

The FDA is apparently taking Aqua Bounty's word for it, however, by declaring the GM salmon to be "as safe to eat as food from other Atlantic salmon." The agency also insists that the fish are "highly unlikely" to cause significant environmental harm, even though it has provided no rationale or evidence to back up this claim.

"The FDA is basically just assuming these fish are okay to eat," stated Jaydee Hanson, a policy analyst at the Center for Food Safety, a nonprofit environmental and public health organization.

Contrary to claims by both Aqua Bounty and the FDA, the GM salmon will not necessarily remain sterile. It is also highly likely the fish will escape into the wild and eventually destroy native salmon populations--and potentially other fish species as well.

The FDA will accept comments and advice from various experts and from the public during the three-day panel. You can sign up to attend the meeting and express your thoughts on the matter at the following link:
https://www.fedmeetings.net/common/registration.cfm?...

You can also write the FDA at:
Division of Dockets Management
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852

Be sure to reference Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0385.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68231Q...