The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that genetically modified salmon — called Frankenfish by critics — is safe to eat, paving the way for the product to eventually be sold in the United States, federal regulators said Thursday.
“I am livid at the FDA’s announcement,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in a news release. Murkowski called genetically modified or engineered salmon “more science experiment than fish of food.”
Congressman Don Young called the FDA decision “harebrained” and said it underscored that “federal agencies are incapable of using commonsense.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said genetically modified salmon “has no business on our dinner plates.”
The delegation considers the FDA decision a threat to Alaska’s multi-billion dollar salmon industry. “Wild Alaskan salmon is an abundant, sustainably managed resource, and despite this misguided decision, will continue to be one of the healthiest and tastiest foods in the world,” Sullivan said.
Dr. William Muir, a genetics and aquaculture professor at Purdue University, said GM salmon is a safe alternative to wild salmon.
“The scientific review is clear. There is no credible evidence that these fish are a risk to either human health or the environment,” Muir said in a statement. “In contrast, the current practice of using wild-caught salmon as a food source is not sustainable, our oceans are overfished.”
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