5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

If you think Mexican food is all chimichangas and chalupas, think again.

If anyone should know, it's chef David Suarez, the Culinary Director of Rosa Mexicano Restaurants - which has expanded from its New York City flagship to nine locations throughout the country.

Now, he's stopped by to bust some myths about the comida south of the border.

Five Myths about Mexican Food: David Suarez
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration held a hearing Tuesday as it considers genetically engineered salmon for human consumption. The hearing specifically focused on the food labeling policies that might be made for the AquAdvantage Salmon.

Speakers included AquaBounty Technologies Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ron Stotish; Alison L. Van Eenennaam of the University of California Davis; and Abby Brandel, Associate Chief Counsel at Food and Drug Administration

Consumer protection advocates said food should be labeled as such if it derives from a genetically modified organism. AquaBounty, on the other hand, argued that genetically modified salmon should not be required to display additional labeling as it has the same qualities as the non-GMO Atlantic salmon.
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In cooking, the process of clarification entails straining out extraneous muck from liquids so that they might be pure, clear and ideal for consumption. With this series on food terminology we're attempting to do the same.

If you pay attention to food labels, you might have to read between the lines when it comes to genetically engineered ingredients.

When Eatocracy polled readers yesterday if they would eat genetically modified salmon, approximately 45.1 percent of respondents answered: “not on your life.”

The irony of the results is that, according to the Center for Food Safety, it has been estimated that 70 to 75 percent of processed foods in supermarkets contain genetically engineered ingredients - they just aren’t required by the Food and Drug Administration to be labeled as such.
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Last week, the Corn Refiners Association announced that it petitioned the FDA for permission to change the name of high fructose corn syrup to "corn sugar." Just a few years ago, in the era of "sugar-free Snackwells," and other similarly marketed foods, such an idea would have been unthinkable. But after a few decades of being among the most vilified substances in the supermarket, "sugar" - meaning sucrose, the old-fashioned white stuff made from cane and beets - is back.

Big food companies are actually bragging that they're using it again, slapping the words "real sugar" on ads and product labels. Meanwhile, sugar is no better for you than it was before, which is to say, terrible, whether it comes in the form of cane crystals or corn squeezin's.

Read the full story from FORTUNE on CNN Money

Chefs like Rick Moonen and Dennis Lange are deeply skeptical about the environmental and health benefits of genetically altered and modified food - and they're not tremendous fans of the flavor, either.

Time.com columnist and James Beard Award-winning food writer Josh Ozersky is willing to make sacrifices for the sake of progress.

There's nothing wrong with modifying food to make it easier for us to grow. There are no black Angus cows grazing in the wild; they're the product of breeding for size, marbling and fast growth, not unlike the genetically modified salmon. If a farmed fish is bad for people, it needs to be banned until the problem is solved; but farming fish, in and of itself, is something that needs to be worked out — and soon. Eating the so-called "Frankenfish," however scary it may sound, is a small price to pay for saving the world.

Get the rest of Josh's story at Time.com

The FDA is currently holding hearings on allowing genetically modified AquAdvantage® Salmon into the food system. Catch up on our coverage of this debate.

Chef Moonen on CNN Opinion: Say no to genetically engineered salmon and 5@5 – Five fish that could use a break

Catch up on all of Eatocracy's GMO coverage.

Catch up on all of Eatocracy's GMO coverage.

Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• Water, water, everywhere and not a free drop to drink at school. - Los Angeles Times

• Jumping on the Tim Love train, a few more reasons why eating meat is better than not. - Seattle Weekly

• Sorry Corn Refiners Association, the name "corn sugar" is already taken. - The Atlantic

• KFC is getting fried by franchisees for the lackluster sales of their grilled chicken campaign. - Bloomberg

• After closing Gourmet magazine last fall, Condé Nast is moving Bon Appétit to New York, and leaving editor in chief, Barbara Fairchild, behind. - New York Times

Food and Drug Administration officials are meeting to decide if genetically modified salmon will be swimming their way into the US's food system.

Advocates both for and against the approval of AquaBounty Technologies' genetically modified AquAdvantage® Salmon as a food source met in Washington yesterday and today in a series of hearings orchestrated by the FDA. Dr. Larissa Rudenko of the FDA, stated that the group has not yet made a decision, but that they "are looking for good and constructive conversation."

Because this analysis is entirely new ground for the FDA, their Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee is using the regulations they would to evaluate veterinary pharmaceuticals, rather those used for than food safety. According to Section 5 of the group's overview of this engineered Atlantic salmon, "That rDNA construct meets the definition of a 'drug' under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act" as "an article intended to alter the structure or function of the body of man or animal." Aqua Bounty Technologies, the developer, has filed a new animal drug application under those guidelines.
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