Would You Eat Genetically Engineered Salmon?

Genetically engineered salmon recently received the stamp of approval from the Food and Drug Administration,

This makes the fish the first genetically altered animal to be cleared for U.S. supermarkets and dining.

According to research, most Americans do not feel genetically altered food is harmless to their health, with a recent Gallup poll noting less than 35% believe it presents a hazard risk. However, among African Americans,there is more of a concern about genetically modified (GM) foods, with black consumers looking for GM food labels more frequently, and more black consumers say it’s unsafe than white.

People who are wary of genetically altered salmon might to happy to hear that Costco has joined the list of major food sellers who say they won’t offer the controversial product to customers.

“Although the FDA has approved the sale of GM [genetically modified] salmon, Costco has not sold and does not intend to sell GM salmon at this time,” a rep for the warehouse chain told the AP.

Nearly two years before AquAdvantage salmon — which is engineered to grow to market size faster than traditional farm-raised salmon — got the go-ahead from regulators, a number of retailers, including Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Aldi, were already saying they had no plans to sell the product. These retailers have since been joined by other, larger supermarkets, like Target and Kroger.

Because the FDA says that the AquAdvantage salmon is safe to consume and nutritionally the same as traditionally raised salmon, the product will not require any special labeling when it eventually hits store shelves.

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