In an industry-defining decision, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a genetically engineered (GE) salmon brand—the first approval in the US for a genetically engineered animal intended for food—declaring the fish is as safe to eat as non-GE salmon.
Massachusetts-based AquaBounty Technologies’ AquAdvantage Atlantic salmon reaches market size more quickly than non-GE, farm-raised Atlantic salmon. FDA regulates GE animals under the new animal drug provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, since the recombinant DNA (rDNA) construct introduced into an animal meets the definition of a drug. In this case, the rDNA construct introduces a trait that makes the salmon grow faster. However, it may be raised only in land-based, contained hatchery tanks in two specific facilities in Canada and Panama; the approval does not allow the salmon to be bred or raised in the US.