Complying with a congressional directive, the FDA barred imports of genetically engineered salmon, “months after approving the first such animal as safe to eat,” says the website Regulatory Focus.
The FDA approved the AquAdvantage salmon in November and issued a draft “guidance for industry” document for voluntary labeling of the fish, which is engineered to grow twice as fast as conventional Atlantic salmon. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski persuaded colleagues to put a rider in the omnibus government funding bill that bars sale of GE salmon until the agency writes a rule for labeling it. Murkowski also put a hold on the nomination of Robert Califf as FDA commissioner until the agency agreed to label the salmon.
The company that engineered the AquAdvantage salmon said the FDA ban will have no impact on its operations because the company is not shipping the fish to U.S. markets. AquaBounty has a facility in Canada to hatch eggs for the GE salmon and a facility in Panama to grow the fish to market size.