UN Unilever NV

With the help of two chief executives, the debate over whether genetically engineered salmon should enter the U.S. food supply heated up Thursday ahead of a series of Food and Drug Administration meetings that kick off this weekend.

The head of the Massachusetts firm that plans to sell the modified fish spoke to reporters Thursday to answer questions ahead of the meetings, which will examine safety and labeling issues.

Meanwhile, the head of Vermont-based ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's was set to descend on Washington Thursday to fight plans for the altered fish.

AquaBounty Technologies Chief Executive Ronald Stotish on Thursday told reporters he's hopeful the FDA will approve the company's salmon for sale.

"It is our hope that not long after these public meetings, the FDA will grant an approval," he said, while describing the FDA's review process as an unprecedented exercise in transparency.

Still, he noted that nothing is guaranteed, saying: "One thing we've learned is you can't predict regulatory action."

Critics of the modified salmon argue that the regulatory process is not thorough, and they are asking the government to halt action. They'll have their say later Thursday through a rally outside the White House.

Opponents, who have dubbed the genetically engineered salmon "Frankenfish," include environmental and food safety groups--and Ben & Jerry's, which will be offering rally attendees ice cream in a flavor called "Something Fishy."

Ben & Jerry's, a unit of Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever, also is using its website to aid in the fight. The home page features salmon swimming innocently in the ocean. Mouse over one, and it becomes genetically engineered, taking on the look of a sharp-toothed piranha. A diver's sign says, "Something Seems Fishy."

"I don't think this is yet a political issue. We're trying to make it a political issue," Ben & Jerry's Chief Executive Jostein Solheim told Dow Jones. He said he's worried about the potential for genetically modified cows, which would affect milk and ice cream products.

Despite opposition, AquaBounty is making progress. FDA staffers recently found that its salmon is safe to eat and shouldn't harm the environment--key findings that give the company's application a boost.

AquaBounty has spent more than a decade developing its AquAdvantage Atlantic salmon, which include a gene that enables them to grow to market size in half the time of conventional salmon. If regulators sign off on the fast-growing fish, it would be the first genetically modified animal product to be approved for human consumption in the U.S.

The company first filed for approval in 1995, but had to wait to proceed until a regulatory process was outlined. There had been discussions about whether the technology needed to be regulated and how, Stotish said, noting that the government recently released guidelines that helped AquaBounty proceed with its application.

If the FDA were to approve the AquAdvantage salmon eggs, it's likely the fully grown, modified salmon could be in stores within about two years, Stotish told reporters.

The biotechnology industry is paying close attention to the outcome.

This "is a test of the process and a testament to how the process will work," said David Edwards, a director at the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

Similarly, Stotish said if the AquAdvantage salmon is approved, it would be "a milestone event," demonstrating the U.S. is receptive to new technologies to maintain its food supply.

That's exactly what critics are afraid of.

"First comes the fish. Next comes the cow. Next comes the pig," said Ben & Jerry's Solheim. "We don't think America or really any country anywhere is ready to eat from genetically engineered animals."

Stotish said he understands the public's wariness over a new technology, but the data prove that the AquAdvantage salmon is just as safe as conventional Atlantic salmon.

He's been disappointed by critics' attacks.

"Many of the charges they're leveling are the old charges of environmental disaster and failure to demonstrate food safety," Stotish said. "Our hope is reason prevails and science-based regulation continues as a principle" in the United States.

-By Maya Jackson Randall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-257-6313; maya.jackson-randall@dowjones.com

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