More than 60 consumer and environmental groups have coordinated a petition to demand that government regulators conduct more tests on the environmental impact and food-safety of genetically engineered animals, before they are approved for human consumption. The focus of the petition is GE salmon reared at Aqua Bounty Farms, which is so far the only species to be undergoing government examination.
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It is uncertain when this particular review will be completed, but in any case it is flawed, according to Joseph Mendelson, legal director at the Center for Food Safety. From the Washington-based advocacy group, Mendelson says that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not well equipped to test the salmon. He argues that agencies such as the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service should also be involved in assessing the food safety of the GE fish, and their potential impact to other fish should they escape the farm.
From the Massachusetts-based Aqua Bounty, president Elliot Entis commented earlier this spring that safety concerns are unfounded because of the multiple precautions in place to ensure the salmon do not come into contact with wild stock. He added that the growth hormone added to the fish to make them grow faster will not affect consumers.
Mendelson commented of the formal petition that the groups involved will be taking the FDA to court if the salmon is approved for human consumption without sufficient safety and environmental checks. The concern is that while salmon is the only GE species of concern now, in the future companies are planning to utilise biotechnology in the development of many different GE animals.
The FDA and Agriculture Department (USDA) will receive the petition today.
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By GlobalData
