"Foes of GE Salmon Raise Specter of 'Trojan Gene' Effect"

"The Food and Drug Administration's public comment period for labeling requirements for a genetically engineered salmon ended not so quietly, with a flurry of press releases leading up to Monday’s deadline.

They included an announcement by a group of lawmakers from Alaska and the Northwest that would prohibit FDA approval of a GE salmon, or require that it be labeled as genetically engineered in the event regulators approved the fish.

A key element of the last-minute volley was a letter from a dozen environmental, science and consumer groups to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg urging her to look carefully at possible adverse ecological consequences as it evaluates a Massachusetts firm’s application for a GE salmon for human consumption. If approved, the salmon would be the first GE food animal.

'We anticipate that a comprehensive [review] will show that the [GE] salmon pose a threat to wild salmon populations and the health of marine and freshwater ecosystems around the world,' the letter states."

Andy Zajac reports for the Los Angeles Times' Greenspace blog November 26, 2010.