FDA: "winding its way through the federal approval process for 17 years"

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonentine/2012/12/28/obamas-science-commitment-fda-face-ethics-scrutiny-in-wake-of-gmo-salmon-fiasco/

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12/28/2012 @ 12:03AM |9,397 views

Obama's Science Commitment, FDA Face Ethics Scrutiny in Wake of GMO Salmon Fiasco

Jon Entine, Contributor

Will the President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy’s John Holdren investigate the White House after violations of the Executive Office guarantee of science integrity—or should he be investigated? The Genetic Literacy Project reports.

Questions are emerging about the breakdown of the federal government’s science integrity process in the wake of the Food & Drug Administration’s long-delayed release of its approval of the first genetically modified animal for human consumption.

The AquAdvantage salmon developed byAquaBounty Technologies of Massachusetts—an Atlantic salmon modified with a growth hormone gene from Chinook salmon so it grows to maturity faster—had been winding its way through the federal approval process for 17 years. Two years ago, the FDA had said it was going to release its environmental assessment, the final document in the approval process, within weeks. It was finally and quietly posted on the FDA’s website only last Friday—just hours before the long holiday weekend—and published in the Federal Register on Wednesday.