As we posted on before: as it has been with human enhanced food for thousands of years, the new science of genetically modified salmon are proving good to eat, though environmentalist groups whose strategic goal is restricting development using the protection of threatened wild salmon as one tactic, want to ban or label them inappropriately--though adequate testing is certainly appropriate--as this article from the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Consumer groups urged the Food and Drug Administration to require labeling of genetically modified salmon Tuesday, while industry representatives called on the FDA to stick to current rules the agency says prevent such labeling.
“The FDA is considering whether to approve a type of salmon from AquaBounty Technologies Inc. that has been given a gene from another fish species designed to make it grow twice as fast as conventional Atlantic salmon.
“If approved, the company's AquAdvantage salmon would be the first genetically modified animal meant to be eaten that received FDA clearance. The agency has already approved several types of genetically altered fruits and vegetables.
“The FDA said it couldn't require a genetically modified product to carry a different label under current food-labeling rules, unless there was something materially different about the product.
“For example, if an engineered salmon had a different level of fatty acids from that found in a conventional salmon, the FDA could require a label specifying the fatty-acid content. But a preliminary review of AquaBounty's salmon hasn't found any major differences between it and conventional Atlantic salmon.”