Aqua Bounty Technologies Inc’s genetically engineered salmon are as safe to eat as other Atlantic salmon, U.S. regulators said in a preliminary analysis released on Friday as they weigh whether to approve the fish for Americans’ dinner plates.

The fish, called AquAdvantage, are genetically altered to grow twice as fast as conventional Atlantic salmon.

The approval and success of the salmon are crucial to AquaBounty, a small biotech company that has staked its future on the technology. The company’s shares rose 12 percent on Friday after the positive comments from U.S. regulators.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has set a three-day public meeting starting September 19 on the fish.

In documents released before the meeting, FDA staff said the altered salmon were “as safe to eat as food from other Atlantic salmon.” The agency said it found “no biologically relevant differences” in vitamins, minerals or fatty acids.

They also said the fish were “highly unlikely” to produce significant effects on the environment.

The chances of the altered salmon escaping from production or growing facilities and reproducing was “extremely small” thanks in part to multiple containment measures, the FDA staff said. The bioengineered fish also are “effectively sterile,” they said.

Massachusetts-based Aqua Bounty says the technology could boost the nation’s fish sector and reduce pressure on the environment.

But consumer advocates and food safety experts worry splicing and dicing fish genes may have the opposite effect, leading to more industrial farming and potential escapes into the wild. Side effects from eating such fish are also unknown, with little data to show it is safe, they say.

At the three-day meeting, the agency will seek input from a panel of outside advisers before making a final decision in the following weeks or months.

If the salmon is approved, the company’s genetically engineered trout and tilapia may follow. Other scientists are developing genetically altered pigs and cows for food. The United States already allows genetically modified plants.

Aqua Bounty originally filed for U.S. approval of the salmon in 1995. In 2009, it saw a $4.8 million net loss after restructuring in 2008 to preserve cash and focus on completing FDA’s approval process.

The company has seen its shares rise more than 75 percent this year in the run-up to the FDA’s decision.

SOURCE: By Lisa Richwine