Consumer Groups Petition FDA to Ban GE Salmon as an Unsafe Food Additive

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Admin

Groups say fish couldn’t pass proper review

Today consumer groups Food & Water Watch, Consumers Union, and the Center for Food Safety submitted a formal petition asking the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to classify and evaluate AquaBounty’s “AquAdvantage” genetically engineered (GE) salmon and all of its components as a food additive. The groups’ legal petition contends that the current agency review process that treats GE salmon only as a new animal drug is insufficient to protect public health, and that the agency is required by law to review the GE salmon under what should be a more rigorous process for any novel substance added to food.

“The data FDA has on GE salmon, which were supplied by Aquabounty, are incomplete, biased, and cannot be relied upon to show that the GE salmon is safe to consume,” said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. “Aquabounty’s own study showed that GE salmon may contain increased levels of IGF-1, a hormone that helps accelerate the growth of the transgenic fish and is linked to breast, colon, prostate, and lung cancer.”

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California Bill to Label GE Fish Fails

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Admin

AB 88—the California bill which would have required that all genetically engineered (GE) fish sold in California contain clear and prominent labeling—failed in the Assembly Appropriations Committee today by a vote of 9-7. AB 88 was stalled in Appropriations last year, and was held-over for reintroduction this session by the bill’s author, Assembly member Huffman.

While we are disappointed that AB 88 failed today, we are encouraged by the level of support the bill received in a tough Committee. The bill’s failure in Committee came despite clear consumer demand for labeling of GE fish. As Huffman told TakePart today, “If we had put this bill before the people of California, it would have passed overwhelmingly.”

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Coalition calls for FDA to halt approval of genetically engineered salmon

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Admin

Discovery of undisclosed infection of salmon eggs calls into question company claims that GE salmon are safe for the environment

Yesterday afternoon a coalition of 11 food safety, environmental, consumer and fisheries organizations sent a letter to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) calling for a halt to its approval of a genetically engineered (GE) salmon after learning that the company’s – AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. – research site was contaminated with a new strain of Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA), the deadly fish flu that is devastating fish stocks around the world.

 “This new information calls into question the reliability of AquaBounty’s data and the validity of its claims that their fish are safe for the environment” said Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety. “The FDA must respond appropriately and conduct their own environmental impact statement that looks at a broad range of environmental risks from these genetically engineered salmon, including the risk of spreading diseases such as ISA and antibiotic use for other diseases.”

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