Bergen, Norway-headquartered Marine Harvest ASA, the world’s largest aquaculture company and producer of farm-raised salmon, has called for the labeling of genetically modified (GM) salmon.
Currently, there is an ongoing debate in the United States on the introduction of genetically modified transgenic salmon. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received an application for approval of GM salmon for human consumption in the USA. If authorization is granted, it will be the first genetically modified animal allowed sold to consumers in that country.
With the existing labeling regime, according to Marine Harvest, it will be impossible for shoppers to know whether the salmon they purchase is genetically modified. As such, the Marine Harvest Group has joined WWF-Norway in insisting that consumers should be able to identify if they are buying a GM-product, and therefore demand that the genetically modified salmon is labeled if approved for the American market.
“Salmon is established as a healthy, safe and tasty product. A possible introduction of GM salmon is controversial and might weaken the salmon brand. Marine Harvest does not support the introduction of genetically modified salmon. If the GM salmon is to be approved for consumption, we ask for it to be specifically labeled,” stated Kristine Gramstad, the company’s global director of communications.
“It is critical that salmon farming is produced in a way that minimizes the negative impact on the environment. We know too little about the environmental impact of farming GM salmon,” said Karoline Andaur, head of the marine program at WWF-Norway. “The ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) has a certification program for responsible aquaculture, and it is the most comprehensive environmental standard that exists for farmed fish. GM salmon cannot be ASC-certified, as transgenic fish are not permitted because of concerns about their unknown impact on wild.”
