FDA to review salmon with designer genes

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it will convene a meeting of its Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee to review scientific data and make a recommendation about whether a genetically engineered salmon is fit for the dinner plate.

In addition to the Sept. 19 and 20 committee meetings, FDA officials said the agency will hold a public hearing Sept. 21 on whether the salmon should be labeled as genetically modified. That's considered a key issue in whether the public accepts the fish.

The salmon, developed by AquaBounty Technologies of Waltham, Mass., grows to market weight in half the usual time.

The firm contends it can avoid the pollution, disease and other problems associated with saltwater fish farms by raising the salmon at inland facilities.

AquaBounty Chief Executive Ronald Stotish said he'd have no problem with a voluntary label affixed by salmon producers but fears a mandatory label would look like a warning. A mandatory label would break with FDA policy, which is that labeling should describe the content of a food, not how it was produced.