Blumenthal to hold news conference to criticize FDA over salmon labeling
Editor's note: The story has been updated to clarify that the genetically engineered salmon allowed to be sold without labeling is AquAdvantage Salmon.
Hartford — U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and other advocates are scheduled to hold a news conference Monday morning at the Legislative Office Building to criticize a recent Food and Drug Administration decision that allows genetically engineered AquAdvantage Salmon to be sold without labeling.
A news release by Blumenthal’s office on Sunday states that he is leading an effort to introduce legislation in the Senate that would require labeling of genetically engineered foods, including fish. It states this would allow consumers to make informed choices about the food they eat.
“The FDA’s approval of genetically engineered salmon — the first ever genetically altered animal to be sold in U.S. supermarkets — opens the flood gates to more modified meats and seafood being sold nationwide without a label. Consumers have a right to know whether their food has been genetically engineered so they can make informed choices about what they eat and purchase. FDA’s action is a major step backward for transparency, making it all the more urgent for Congress to act now to require clear, consistent, and mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods,” he wrote.
Slated to join Blumenthal at the 10 a.m. event in Room 1B are Tara Cook-Littman, chairwoman of the Citizens for GMO Labeling, Evan Preston, the executive director of ConnPIRG and Barbara Gordon from the Connecticut Seafood Council.
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