AquAdvantage, the company behind genetically modified salmon, is getting closer to having its product on supermarket shelves, after applying to sell its fish in Canada, according to the Canadian Press.
AquAdvantage salmon is a product of the Massachusetts-based firm AquaBounty Technologies, a company hoping to produce genetically modified salmon eggs. The company hopes to help fish reach market size in half the time it takes average salmon.
The fish would be the first genetically engineered animal approved for human consumption. Producers stated that the fish were safe to consume and "environmentally friendly." They also added that the fish would feed more of the population, while using fewer resources compared to other farmed fishes, according to FOX News.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also decided that the fish were safe for human consumption and wrote in their findings in 2010, stating that, "We have found no biologically relevant difference between food from ABT salmon and conventional Atlantic salmon based on the criteria evaluated."
In November, Environment Canada approved the commercial production of AquaBounty's GMO salmon eggs in Canada, as long as the proper precautions were taken. That said, environmental groups challenged the department's decision. They worried that the research was flawed after paper work proved that the sterilization has a five percent fail rate. Environment Canada also failed to attain the information legally required to make a decision under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
"The company currently expects to market AquAdvantage Salmon in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Chile and China following receipt of required regulatory approvals in the applicable jurisdiction," AquAdvantage said in a statement.
AquaBounty is reportedly awaiting approval from the FDA before its fish and eggs are available for sale. But regardless of the FDA's decision, market chains like Kroger, Safeway, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Target made it clear that they want nothing to do with the GMO salmon, which is dubbed "frankenfish" by critics.
"Before we say we've come up with a way to feed the growing population, what are we putting at risk in exchange?" Dana Perls, a policy campaigner at the environmental organization Friends of the Earth, said, according to FOX. "We really need to know what we're doing. We want to make sure we're taking the right steps in the long run as opposed to wishing we'd done something later."
If it becomes available, will you purchase GMO salmon?
