NEW YORK – A federal court judge ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday to conduct an environmental assessment of genetically modified salmon that he said was required for the agency’s approval of the fish.
The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco centers on AquaBounty’s salmon, which are genetically modified to grow faster than normal salmon.
In 2015, the fish became the first genetically modified animal approved for human consumption in the U.S. After clearing other regulatory hurdles.
Aquabounty fish are Atlantic salmon injected with DNA from other fish species that makes them grow faster.
The salmon already has been sold in limited quantities in Canada, where it doesn’t have to be labeled as genetically modified, the company has said.