Soon after the US FDA’s announcement that it had approved the sale of AquaBounty’s genetically modified salmon, reports of public discontent came rolling in.

A New York Times readership poll found that 75 percent of respondents would not eat salmon that had been genetically modified, and Friends of the Earth said that more than 60 grocery store chains operating 9,000 storefronts across the United States had already vowed not to sell GMO or genetically modified products. Safeway, Kroger, Target, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and Aldi are among the retailers refusing GMO items.

“Despite FDA’s flawed and irresponsible approval of the first genetically engineered animal for human consumption, it’s clear that there is no place in the US market for genetically engineered salmon,” said Lisa Archer, food and technology program director at Friends of the Earth, in a prepared statement. “People don’t want to eat it and grocery stores are refusing to sell it.”

Approximately 1.8 million people have sent letters to the FDA opposing the approval of what many letter-writers referred to as “frankenfish and there are questions about whether the FDA will require GM salmon products to be labeled as such.

“There’s no place on our dinner plates for genetically engineered fish. We will continue to work to ensure the market, from grocery retailers to restaurants, continues to listen to majority of consumers that don\'t want to eat this poorly studied, unlabeled genetically engineered fish,” Archer concluded.

According to Friends of the Earth, at least 35 other types of genetically engineered fish, like that produced by AquaBounty Technologies’ AquAdvantage, are under development.

Source: SeafoodSource.com. Read the full story here.