The holiday leftovers are long gone. Only a joke grab-bag food gift remains on my kitchen counter - it's the "World's Largest Gummy Bear", a 5 pound blob of gelled cherry-flavored corn syrup. After providing comic relief at the family gift exchange, now, by default, I’m left wondering what to do with this super-sized piece of 21st century Americana.
Seriously, though, what 'big' food item will make its debut in the marketplace this next year? Think of a salmon the size of a blimp. A recent The New York Times article reported the Food and Drug Administration's provisional approval for a genetically engineered salmon to enter the food supply. In the agency's words, it " is as safe as food from conventional Atlantic salmon". Environmental and food safety groups have 60 days to comment.
For more than 10 years AquaBounty Technologies sought approval for AquaAdvantage salmon, an Atlantic salmon containing inserted genes from two different fish. Working in tandem, these genes allow the modified salmon to grow year-round and reach maturity in half the time it takes a natural Atlantic salmon.
AquaBounty finally convinced the FDA that this salmon would have "no significant impact" on the environment. Its life cycle is tightly controlled. Engineered eggs produced at a facility on Prince Edwards Island in Canada will be flown to Panama and raised to maturity in inland tanks, away from the ocean. These salmon will be sterilized and genetically unable to adapt to warm, salty water found in oceans. What are the odds that a natural salmon will mate with the AquaAdvantage salmon in the future, a result of unforseeable circumstances? That depends on whom you ask.
There's more to this fish story. During its long waiting period AquaBounty was forced to sell off half its stock. Intrexon, the half-owner who now wants to buy out AquaBounty, is capable of highly synthetic genetic engineering. If the sale goes through, and the FDA gives final approval to AquaAdvantage, transgenic salmon could be available at your local store next year. Is there possibly a "frankenfish" in our future? I will keep you posted....
Note: I want to correct a factual error in my recent blog about Rosemary Fannery's book, Angels of Paris. The book's publisher is The Little Bookroom that specializes in pocket-sized, hardback guidebooks. Angels fits comfortably in the hand, and I look forward to taking it with me to Paris.
Link to the New York Times Article referenced in this blog:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/22/business/gene-altered-fish-moves-closer-to-federal-approval.html
