Court orders FDA to assess environmental impact of GM salmon
Source: Associated Press
Court orders FDA to assess environmental impact of GM salmon
By CANDICE CHOI
November 6, 2020
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal court judge ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday to conduct an environmental assessment of genetically modified salmon that he said was required for the agency’s approval of the fish.
But the judge did not vacate the FDA’s approval of the salmon for human consumption in the meantime, because he said the risk for near-term environmental harm is low.
“The FDA has to go back to the drawing board and do its homework,” said George Kimbrell, legal director for the Center for Food Safety, one of the groups that filed suit challenging the agency’s approval of the genetically modified salmon.
The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco centers on AquaBounty’s salmon, which are genetically modified to grow faster than normal salmon. In 2015, the fish became the first genetically modified animal approved for human consumption in the U.S. After clearing other regulatory hurdles. AquaBounty began growing the fish in indoor tanks at an Indiana plant last year.
In an email Thursday, a representative for AquaBounty noted that the ruling covered the potential environmental impact of the fish, and not the health and safety of eating them. The company said the salmon are not yet being sold in the U.S.; it had previously said the fish could be in the market by late this year.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/technology-animals-fish-salmon-environment-f1a9acd11dd438b1a7c6772c7e4ccf73
