Novel Food - Canada

Canada

In Canada, novel foods are regulated under the Novel Foods Regulations. The regulations define novel food as

• Products that have never been used as food,
• Foods that result from a process that has not been previously used for food, or,
• Foods that have undergone genetic modification and have new traits.

The Novel Foods Regulation requires that a company wanting to sell a novel food notify Health Canada prior to marketing or advertising the product. Pre-market notification permits Health Canada to conduct a thorough safety assessment of all biotechnology-derived foods to demonstrate that a novel food is safe and nutritious before it is allowed in the Canadian marketplace.

To date, more than 90 novel foods have been approved for sale in Canada including a number of canola, corn, cottonseed and flax crop lines. Some of the novel traits include herbicide tolerance and pest and disease resistance. In spite of the benefits brought about by the development of novel foods, there are also a number of concerns that have been raised concerning their potential impact on the environment and on human health and safety.