Consumer Groups Want Tougher Probe Of Engineered Salmon

Three U.S. consumer groups petitioned the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to subject a new genetically engineered salmon to a more rigorous review process than is now in place before the fish can be approved as safe to eat.

The fish at issue, AquaBounty Technologies' AquAdvantage salmon, is currently classified as a new animal drug for the purposes of FDA review.

The FDA considers any genetically altered animal a new animal drug for approval purposes. The petition calls for the salmon to be classified as a food additive instead, which would require a more rigorous FDA review.

AquaBounty is seeking U.S. approval to market its engineered Atlantic salmon, which contains a gene from another fish species, the Chinook salmon, to help it grow twice as fast as normal.

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