WHAT GENETICALLY ALTERED FOODS ARE APPROVED IN CANADA?
Plants with Novel Traits: In the case of genetically engineered plants, there have been over 4,000 field trials since 1988. Food safety approval has been received by Health Canada on 36 plants with novel traits including canola, corn, tomato, potato, soybean, cottonseed and squash. General environmental releases have been granted for 31 plants with novel traits, including canola, corn, potato, soybean, wheat, and flax, (corn is not subject to variety registration). Of these, nine have been registered as crop varieties. Novel Feeds: There have been 31 approvals of plants with novel traits to be used as livestock feed. They include canola, corn, potatoes, soybeans and cotton. Some examples of the kinds of research currently being undertaken include: increasing unsaturated fat content of corn, soybean and canola plants; changing milk products to remove lactose; increasing the lysine content of rice; and increasing tolerance of plants to extreme dry or cold climates etc. Two tomato strains
