The Campaign for Genetically Engineered (GE)-Free Seafood has announced that Target and other large US grocery retailers have committed to not sell genetically engineered salmon if it is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
These new store policies were released in Greenpeace’s Carting Away the Oceans report, which assesses the sustainable seafood policies of US retailers.
Stores that will not sell genetically engineered salmon include Target, the H-E-B chain, Giant Eagle and Meijer. These stores join 55 other food retailers that made similar commitments earlier this year, bringing the total number of companies committed to not sell genetically engineered seafood to 59 retailers, representing 4,662 grocery stores across the country.
The market rejection of genetically engineered fish comes as the FDA conducts its final review of a genetically engineered salmon. More than 1.8 million people submitted comments to the FDA opposing the approval of what would be the first-ever genetically engineered animal approved by regulators for the human food supply.
“Simply put, this genetically engineered fish is a problem masquerading as a solution,” said Heather Whitehead, online campaigns director at Center for Food Safety. “It’s bad for the consumer, bad for the environment, and bad for our native salmon. Since these fish will likely not be labeled, consumers have to rely on retailers like these to reject unwanted and unnecessary GE fish. We will continue to pressure other retailers to side with consumers.”
