Unlabeled GMO salmon coming to a store or restaurant near you: FDA approves Frankenfish despite lack of safety studies

Monday, November 30, 2015 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: GM salmon, AquAdvantage, FDA approval

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(NaturalNews) If that glistening salmon filet in the cold case at the grocery store looks bigger and more ... engineered than normal in 2016, it could be the laboratory version of real salmon grown under AquaBounty Technologies' patented "AquAdvantage" label (which, ironically, won't actually be labeled for consumers), the latest genetically-modified organism (GMO) to hit the market, following approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

After five years of waiting around for something like an ISIS terrorist attack or a mass school shooting to distract the American public long enough to make a move, the FDA has quietly given AquaBounty the green light to begin producing GMO salmon eggs in Canada, shipping them to Panama for incubation, and shipping the final transgenic product to the U.S. for distribution to grocery stores and restaurants.

Despite massive public outcry, and a complete lack of safety studies, AquAdvantage GMO salmon is the FDA's latest chemical poison to be released commercially as "food." And, per the FDA's longstanding policy against full disclosure, American consumers will have no idea that this Trojan horse "salmon" is lurking in food establishments, because it won't be labeled as transgenic.

According to The New York Times (NYT), the FDA has rejected two separate petitions calling on the agency to label GMO products in the interest of transparency. The FDA claims that AquAdvantage, despite being materially different enough to be patented, isn't materially different enough to be labeled, and that consumers should just shut up, suck it up, and eat the fake fish with a smile.

An FDA announcement explains that the agency has determined AquAdvantage to be "as safe to eat as any non-genetically engineered (GE) Atlantic salmon, and also as nutritious." And concerning environmental threats, the FDA insists that AquAdvantage "would not have a significant impact on the environment of the United States."

FDA approves GMO salmon against public will; says mandatory labeling isn't necessary

Prior to issuing approval for AquaBounty's GMO salmon, the FDA received tens of thousands of comments from citizens, scientists, academics and many others who opposed its approval on the grounds that the transgenic fish poses threats to both human health and the environment. But the FDA ignored all of these concerns and proceeded to give AquaBounty what it requested – full commercial approval for unlabeled GMO salmon.

The FDA also rejected petitions to require mandatory labeling of AquAdvantage so consumers can make informed decisions when eating out or purchasing salmon at the grocery store. Instead, the FDA has proposed a draft guidance for voluntary labeling by salmon suppliers who wish to differentiate their natural, nutritive fish from the mutated, corporate "fish" that will soon flood the U.S. salmon market.

You can comment on this FDA draft guidance here until January 25, 2016.

News giant Al Jazeera even commented on the questionable timing of the FDA's approval, noting that it was conveniently "buried in all the talk of terrorism in the wake of the November 13 attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead." Even so, at least one environmental group didn't let this untimely news slip by unnoticed, warning that it now plans to file a lawsuit against the FDA for what amounts to a criminal conspiracy against the American public.

"In approving the AquaBounty transgenic salmon, FDA ignored millions of Americans and more than 40 members of Congress who have expressed vocal opposition," reports the Center for Food Safety (CFS).

"FDA also neglects the concerns of more than 300 environmental, consumer, health and animal welfare organizations, salmon and fishing groups and associations, food companies, chefs and restaurants."

You can help fight back against this decision by sharing the CFS GE salmon fact sheet and corresponding action alert with your friends, family members and representatives. You can access this and more here.

Sources for this article include:

NYTimes.com

FDA.gov

Ecowatch.com

CenterForFoodSafety.org

AlJazeera.com