Genetically engineered fish, AquaAdvantage salmon, or “frankfenfish,” depending on your viewpoint, are closer than ever to FDA approval, reported Newsy.

The salmon, engineered by the company Aquabounty, grow twice as fast as normal fish and “would be the first approved scientifically engineered animal for human consumption,” reported KTTU.

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The FDA claims that the altered fish are as safe for the environment as any other fish, writing in a recent assessment that they “will not have any significant impacts on the quality of the human environment of the United States,” reported the Christian Science Monitor.

Environmental groups fear that the altered fish could cause human allergies and escape and breed in the wild, which, they say, could lead to the end of natural salmon populations.

After a 60 day public comment period ends, the FDA will in all likelihood approve the salmon for sale and consumption.

If approved, the fish will likely not have to be labelled as genetically modified.

Watch the report, via Newsy, below.

[Image via AFP]