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Regulators with the FDA have released a preliminary report that suggests they will soon give the go-ahead to a team of scientists who’ve created a sci-fi “frankenfish.”
On Friday, the US Food and Drug Administration released an environmental assessment report regarding a salmon-hybrid developed in the laboratories of AquaBounty. The FDA must wait two months before they make final their decision regarding the fate of the frankenfish, but through their study they have determined that the genetically engineered animal, the “AquAdvantage,” is safe enough to be sold.
The fish, a hybrid of the Pacific Chinook salmon and a ray-finned creature called the eelpout, is engineered to grow twice as normal as traditional salmon. Once the frankenfish is approved for good, AquaBounty will be able to offer meatier fish able to feed more people.
“In all other respects,” the company says the AquAdvantage fish is “identical to other Atlantic salmon.”
The AquAdvantage “will not have any significant impacts on the quality of the human environment of the United States,” the FDA wrote, noting additionally that the fish is unlikely to harm populations of natural salmon.
The FDA has 60 days to hear remarks from the public before it makes its final decision. At this point, though, experts weighing in with the Associated Press say the report suggests an approval is all but certain. From there, AquaBounty is likely to release what will be the first genetically engineered animal ever determined safe for human consumption. With no other such animal ever approved in the past, though, concerns have been plentiful over what consequences the creature could spawn.
Bill Freese, a science policy analyst with the Center for Food Safety, told Women’s Health Magazine recently that while the FDA obviously has regulations the fish will have to pass, that process is “totally unlike” how the FDA goes about approving drugs.
According to Freese, “a very lax regulatory system” could lead to dire results.
“This is a radical new technology. We need very good, careful, close regulation, and we just don’t have that. We can’t be assured of the safety of any of these genetically engineered organisms,” he said.
Developing the frankenfish has so far cost AquaBounty nearly two decades of research and tens of millions of dollars. Only weeks ago, though, the very fate of the fish was put at risk.
While awaiting news from the FDA in early December, AquaBounty CEO Ron Stotish told the Associated Press that length delays had nearly drained the company from all their money.
“It’s threatening our very survival,” Stotish told the AP. “We only have enough money to survive until January 2013, so we have to raise more. But the unexplained delay has made raising money very difficult.”
In 2010, the FDA concluded that the AquaAdvantage fish was just as safe as traditional salmon to eat. Only now, however, has it been finally able to release its environmental assessment report, one of the final steps before AquaBounty can be given the green light.
Reguladores con la FDA han publicado un informe preliminar que sugiere que pronto dará el visto bueno a un equipo de científicos que ha creado una ciencia ficción "frankenfish."
El viernes, la US Food and Drug Administration publicaron un informe de evaluación ambiental en relación con un salmón-híbrido desarrollado en los laboratorios de AquaBounty. La FDA debe esperar dos meses antes de que hacen su decisión sobre el destino de la frankenfish final, pero a través del estudio han determinado que el animal genéticamente, la "AquAdvantage", es lo suficientemente seguro como para ser vendidos.
Los peces, un híbrido de los salmones del Pacífico Chinook y una criatura de aletas llamada la viruela, está diseñado para crecer dos veces tan normal como salmón tradicional. Una vez aprobado el frankenfish para bien, AquaBounty será capaz de ofrecer mas peces capaces de alimentar a más personas.
"En todos los demás aspectos," la compañía dice que los peces de AquAdvantage es "idéntico al otro salmón del Atlántico".
La AquAdvantage "no tendrá ningún impacto significativo sobre la calidad del medio ambiente humano de los Estados Unidos," escribió la FDA, y tomando nota además de que el pescado es poco probable que dañar las poblaciones de salmones.
La FDA tiene 60 días para escuchar comentarios del público antes de que haga su decisión final. En este punto, sin embargo, pesaje con la Associated Press los expertos dicen que el informe sugiere que una aprobación es casi seguro.
SI QUIERE MAS INFORMACION VAYA A LA FUENTE: The European Union Time
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