The Minister of Health has decided to allow corporate self-regulation of many new gene-edited GM foods.
Read and share CBAN’s press release – May 18, 2022: Federal Government Abandons Safety Assessments and Transparency for New Gene-Edited Foods
Today, Health Canada announced changes that will allow private companies to release many new genetically engineered (genetically modified or GM) foods without any government oversight. The federal government will now permit product developers to assess the safety of many new gene-edited foods (those with no foreign DNA), with no role for Health Canada regulators. Health Canada’s new regulatory guidance will also limit the government’s powers to simply asking companies to voluntarily notify the government of unregulated gene-edited foods coming to market.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is considering a similar proposal to allow many gene-edited seeds, including trees, onto the market without government safety assessments and mandatory notification to government.
For background and more information, see www.cban.ca/NoExemptions