Did the FDA Conceal Reports on the Dangers of Frankenfish?

What else does the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) know about genetically modified (GM) salmon that it isn't telling us? The Center for Food Safety (CFS) recently revealed government documents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that underscore the potential environmental dangers that GM salmon represent. Despite the obvious relevance of this document to the decision as to whether or not to approve the world's first GM animal intended for human consumption, the FDA withheld this evidence from the September hearings and instead echoed AquaBounty's line that the Frankenfish — I'm sorry, the AquAdvantage® Salmon — pose no environmental threat.

The Biological Opinion from the FWS and NOAA was released in 2003 after the Atlantic salmon was designated as an endangered species. The report didn't just warn about the danger that escaped transgenic salmon pose; it actually banned the use of such fish in open-water net pens in order to "eliminate the potentially adverse disease and ecological risks posed by the use of transgenic salmonids in aquaculture." Why is it, then, that the FDA praised AquaBounty's plan to keep GM salmon in land-locked farms as "responsible" when the alternative is actually illegal?

AquaBounty and the FDA have assured the public that the GM fish would be contained far from wild populations and that only sterile, female fish would be sold to growers. This scenario sounds uncomfortably similar to a certain movie that ends with everyone getting eaten by dinosaurs. Indeed, the Biological Opinion further discusses the fact that no system of containment is 100 percent foolproof and that sterilization methods are "highly variable" and not completely effective.

Perhaps even more troubling is the fact that the FDA has failed to further consult the FWS and NOAA about GM salmon. According to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, federal agencies are required to consult with these agencies regarding any decision that may impact a protected species. According to an email from FWS staff to NOAA included in the documents released by the CFS:

Shortly after the Atlantic salmon was listed as endangered, several of us from USFWS and NMFS spent 2 days down in Maryland meeting with Aqua Bounty and FDA about development of genetically modified salmon and discussion around the need for FDA to engage in Section 7 consultation with the Services. We never heard a peep out of FDA or Aqua Bounty after that.

And it seems that they still haven't. The FDA claims to have engaged in "preliminary" discussions with these agencies, but went on with the approval hearings without their expert opinions. It seems that the FDA is actively covering up information about the dangers GM fish cause, or at the very least, avoiding asking the tough questions. See no evil...

In light of these revelations, the AquaBounty and FDA's sloppy science used to support the claim that the fish is safe for human consumption becomes even more suspect. An advisory panel to the FDA recently concluded that more research is needed in order to determine if GM salmon was really safe because the research was not thorough enough — and this was after the FDA approved the fish to be eaten.

So it seems that either the FDA is woefully ignorant of the information in its possession or it is actively suppressing negative reports. Neither thought is very comforting. Hopefully as more of this information comes to light and more people speak up, we'll get a real scientific assessment of the potential pitfalls of GM salmon instead of the ramrodding process we've witnessed thus far.

You can help prevent GM salmon from entering our food supply by signing Food and Water Watch's petition asking President Obama to deny approval of AquAdvantage salmon.

Photo credit: Dan Taylor via Flickr