Canada adopted guidelines in May 2023 on crops developed through gene-editing and other New Breeding Techniques (NBTs), regulating them in the same limited way as conventional crops. No labeling is required for almost all crops grown using NBTs. According to the government:
”Plant breeding innovations allow new plant varieties to be developed more effectively and efficiently than through conventional breeding. This can benefit farmers and consumers by providing them with access to plants and seeds that are both safe for humans, animals, and the environment. These varieties can also be more resistant to extreme temperature, precipitation, and insects, helping us adapt to climate change, feed a growing population and keep food costs down for consumers.”
Three products developed using NBTs have been commercialized under the new regulations.
Genetically modified crops (GMOs) will continue to require a pre-market safety evaluation based on restrictive regulations adopted in 2006 that apply to agricultural products with novel traits and foreign DNA (GMOs). Any plants, food or feed that contain novel traits require environmental and safety assessments to be approved, limiting Canada to just a few approved GMO crops.
In part to protect organic crop certification, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced the creation of THE industry-managed Seeds Canada Canadian Variety Transparency Database to make it clear which seeds are and are not organic. While that database is voluntary, it will be overseen by a Steering Committee on Plant Breeding Innovations Transparency, and will engage in ongoing discussions with farmers and the public.
The 2023 revisions concluded a multi-year evaluation. Health Canada classifies five categories of food that no longer must be individually assessed as novel foods, and so will not require pre-market safety assessments, stating that “their safety is already consistently well characterized’’:
- Foods derived from plants with genetic modifications that do not alter an endogenous protein in a way that introduces or increases similarity with a known allergen or toxin relevant to human health;
- Foods derived from plants with genetic modifications that do not increase levels of a known endogenous allergen, a known endogenous toxin or a known endogenous anti-nutrient beyond the documented ranges observed for these analytes in the plant species;
- Foods derived from plants with genetic modifications that do not have an impact on key nutritional composition and/or metabolism;
- Foods derived from plants with genetic modifications that do not intentionally change the food use of the plant; and
- Foods derived from plants with genetic modifications that do not result in the presence of foreign DNA in the final plant product.
The Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) is reevaluating the potential use of gene editing to control pests such as mosquitoes and rodents. At the request of Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency, CCA formed an expert panel in 2022 to examine the scientific, bioethical, and regulatory challenges associated with the use of gene-edited organisms and technologies, including gene drives for pest control.
Currently Canada pest control products are regulated under the Pest Control Products Act and requirements for approval are well established. The Canadian government has seen the potential to use gene-edited organisms (e.g. mosquito vectors, agricultural pests) in pest control applications. The chair of the CCA is leading a multidisciplinary group with expertise in molecular biology and genetics, ecology and disease vectors, bioethics, agriculture, science and risk communication, and regulation and governance to answer the following question: “What are the scientific, bioethical, and regulatory challenges regarding the use of gene-edited organisms and technologies (e.g., CRISPR) for pest control?”
Products/Research (partial list as many products are in development)
- Commercialized Improved alfalfa, 2017: US company Calyxt developed alfalfa with enhanced forage quality for livestock. In 2019 field trials were conducted, and the product is expected to hit the market in 2023.
- Commercialized Mustard greens with decreased bitterness, 2022: US company Pairwise developed a knock-out mustard green using CRISPR-Cas12a, which results in stable reduction in pungency.
- Commercialized Non-browning apple, 2015: Arctic Apple developed by Okanagan Specialty Fruits using RNA interference, a New Breeding Technique (NBT). Arctic Golden, Granny Smith and Fuji apples are approved and Galas are in development.
- Commercialized Non-browning potato, 2016: US company Simplot developed a non-browning potato using the New Breeding Technique RNA interference that was approved for sale in Canada in 2016.
- Approved Easily digestible corn, 2020: Pioneer Hi-Bred Canada Company produced their ‘Next Generation Waxy corn’ using CRISPR to increase amylopectin levels. This will increase the digestibility and allow the starch to be absorbed more quickly.
- Approved Herbicide-tolerant canola, 2016: Cibus, a US company, used a gene editing technique called oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis (ODM) to develop an herbicide-resistant canola that was approved in 2013. Field tests were conducted in 2015.
- Research Salt-resistant rice, 2020: Agrisea, an ocean agriculture startup, developed rice that can be grown in the ocean.
Regulatory Timeline
2022: Health Canada determines that crops developed via gene editing will not be subject to regulation requirements imposed on GMOs and will not be labeled.
2022: USDA Secure rule is implemented
2018: Canada and 12 other nations, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil and the US, issue a joint statement supporting agricultural applications of precision biotechnology, stating that governments should “avoid arbitrary and unjustifiable distinctions between end products (crop traits) derived from precision biotechnology and similar end products, obtained through other production methods.”
2011: The Food and Drug Regulations amended.
2005: Adoption of GMO regulations
2004: The Voluntary Labeling and Advertising of Foods that Are and Are not Products of Genetic Engineering adopted.
1985: Canada passes Food and Drugs Act, Feeds Act and Seeds Act, which together form the regulations for food, feed, and plants.
NGO Reaction
Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA) says Canada’s relaxed seed guidelines are a “step backwards”. “These seeds have never been introduced into nature,” said executive director Tia Loftsgard, demanding further studies.
CBAN, consisting of 15 groups — Canadian Organic Growers, Council of Canadians, National Farmers Union, as well as several provincial organic or ecology groups and organizations opposing GMOs — stated it is ‘’shocked that the minister of health has committed to corporate self-regulation of these gene-edited foods’’.
The National Farme’s Union (NFU) of Canadian family farmers launched a campaign in May 2023 to encourage the government to rollback the new regulations. It opposes the reforms, it says, because “private companies decide if their own products are safe for the environment — and put them on the market without revealing they are gene-edited.” The NFU petition says: “Farmers will be the ones to pay the cost of unknowingly planting gene edited seed that is not accepted in a sensitive market. Canada’s reputation as an exporting country will be damaged if customers cannot trust that we are providing full disclosure on the products we sell.”
In 2022 Martin Caron, president of the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA) called on the government to require labeling. Knowing which seeds are modified is “essential information if we are to continue to meet the demands of consumers who do not wish to consume these products,” he said.
In 2020 CBAN released a report: Genome Editing in Food and Farming: Risks and Unexpected Consequences, in which the organization states that gene-editing leads to off-target effects. The report furthermore states that these effects are not well documented and there are no protocols for detecting them.
NGO’s, led by the ETC Group (an international organization based in Canada), consider synthetic biology and gene editing to be “extreme genetic engineering” and have extensively campaigned against biotechnology in Canada and elsewhere.
Additional resources
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency
- Health Canada Guidance on the Novelty Interpretation of Products of Plant Breeding
- Labeling of genetically engineered foods in Canada
Last updated: 04/08/2023
