March 18, 2014 — Food safety and environmental organizations are pushing retail giant Costco to refuse to stock a brand of genetically engineered salmon awaiting approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
Target, Kroger, Safeway, Trader Joe’s and other companies have already committed to refrain from selling the salmon, dubbed “Frankenfish” by opponents of food made with genetically modifies organisms (GMOs).
The Center for Food Safety, along with the groups Friends of the Earth, Food & Water Watch and Consumers Union, are gathering signatures in support of a letter to Costco CEO Craig Jelinek, urging him to follow suit.
“As one of the largest retailers of salmon and seafood in the U.S., Costco should have a strong policy on this important issue, I urge Costco to join these other leaders in making a commitment to not sell GE salmon,” the letter reads.
As of this week, at least 80,000 people had signed on to the effort, according to the Center for Food Safety.
The FDA is weighing a proposal from the biotechnology firm AquaBounty Technologies to approve for human consumption its Atlantic salmon eggs, which include a gene that enables them to grow to market size in half the time of a normal salmon.
The agency has issued initial findings that the Boston firm’s fish are identical to traditional salmon, safe to eat and won’t cause environmental harm, leading to speculation that they would ultimately be approved.
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