Want Non-GMO Salmon? Go Fish!

In a press release published May 19, 2016, Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced that genetically modified (GMO) salmon developed by AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (AquaBounty) has been approved for sale as food in Canada. This follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval for the sale of the salmon product in the U.S. in November 2015. AquaBounty’s GMO salmon product, branded as AquAdvantage® Salmon, is expected to be available for sale in Canadian stores in late 2017.

AquAdvantage® Salmon, which will be farmed in AquaBounty’s production facilities, incorporates genes from Chinook salmon and an eel known as an ocean pout. This allows AquAdvantage® Salmon to grow twice as fast as conventionally farmed Atlantic salmon.

Health Canada will not require AquAdvantage Salmon sold in Canadian grocery stores to be labelled as a genetically modified product. According to Health Canada, a product is only required to be labelled as a GMO product when there are clear, scientifically established health risks or when significant changes to the nutritional qualities of the food have been identified which can be mitigated by labelling the product as a GMO product.