Federal court nixes FDA’s approval of genetically engineered “Frankenfishâ€
11/23/2020 / By Divina Ramirez
In a major win for wild salmon, the Court for the Northern District of California ruled on Nov. 5 that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ignored potential environmental consequences in its approval of genetically engineered salmon produced by the Massachusetts-based AquaBounty Technologies.
District Judge Vince Chhabria also said that the FDA violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in approving the company’s application for AquAdvantage Salmon in 2015, the first time any government cleared a genetically engineered animal as food.
According to the court ruling, the FDA failed to consider the risk of the salmon escaping and surviving in the wild, where it could threaten wild salmon and other endangered fish species populations. Following the ruling, the FDA must now reconsider the environmental assessment for AquAdvantage Salmon. However, Chhabria did not withdraw the FDA’s approval of the new fish species.
https://www.pollution.news/2020-11-23-court-rejects-fda-approval-of-frankenfish.html
