US FDA does not require labelling of food over GM ingredients

The US Food and Drug Administration approved of genetically engineered salmon for human consumption on Thursday.

However, a related issue, labelling of genetically modified ingredients, which the FDA has not mandated, continues to generate controversy.

The FDA stance has added in some measure to the confusion for consumers and for those companies that were voluntarily disclosing information on their packaging.

In the first instance, the FDA does not favour the most widely used term, non-GMO, which hundreds of companies printed on packs of tens of thousands of products on grocery store shelves.

According to the agency, GMO which was short for  ''genetically modified organism,'' conveyed an inaccurate and overly broad meaning when applied to food products.

''Most foods do not contain entire organisms,'' the FDA noted.

The agency would prefer labels saying something like ''Not bioengineered'' or ''This oil is made from soybeans that were not genetically engineered.''

Whether any food companies would take the step, or begin using non-genetically engineered foods rather than non-GMO., is not known at this point.

However, major food companies had applauded the agency's position to not require disclosure of engineered ingredients, as it had determined that such products were not materially different from their non-engineered cousins.

Meanwhile, the FDA, after conducting an exhaustive and rigorous scientific review, had  arrived at the decision that AquAdvantage salmon is was safe to eat as any non-genetically engineered (GE) Atlantic salmon, and also as nutritious.

The FDA said on its website, ''FDA scientists rigorously evaluated extensive data submitted by the manufacturer, AquaBounty Technologies, and other peer-reviewed data, to assess whether AquAdvantage salmon met the criteria for approval established by law; namely, safety and effectiveness.

The data demonstrated that the inserted genes remained stable over several generations of fish, that food from the GE salmon is safe to be eaten by humans and animals, that the genetic engineering is safe for the fish, and the salmon meets the sponsor's claim about faster growth.''

''In addition, FDA assessed the environmental impacts of approving this application and found that the approval would not have a significant impact on the environment of the United States. That's because the multiple containment measures the company will use in the land-based facilities in Panama and Canada make it extremely unlikely that the fish could escape and establish themselves in the wild.''