FDA considers request to approve 'frankenfish'

WASHINGTON - Fish or frankenfish? A Massachusetts company wants to market a genetically engineered version of Atlantic salmon, and regulators are weighing the request. If approval is given, it would be the first time the government allowed such modified animals to join the foods that go onto the nation's dinner tables.

Ron Stotish, chief executive of AquaBounty, said yesterday at the first of two days of hearings that his company's fish product is safe and environmentally sustainable.

Food and Drug Administration officials have largely agreed with him, saying that the salmon, which grows twice as fast as its conventional "sisters," is as safe to eat as the traditional variety. But they have not decided whether to approve the request.

Critics call the modified salmon a "frankenfish" that could cause allergies in humans and the eventual decimation of the wild salmon population. An FDA advisory committee is reviewing the science of the genetically engineered fish this week and hearing such criticisms as the agency ponders approval.

Genetic engineering is already widely used for crops, but the government until now has not considered allowing the consumption of modified animals.

Part of the hearing is focusing on labeling of the fish. FDA regulations require modified foods to be labeled as such only if the food is substantially different from the conventional version.

If approved, the fish could be in grocery stores in two years, the company said.- AP