List of non-novel products of plant breeding for food use

This list includes products of plant breeding that don’t meet the definition of “novel food,” but are intended for food use in Canada. These plants aren’t subject to pre-market assessment before their use in the Canadian food supply as they are considered “non-novel.”

We have drawn this list from 2 sources:

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Health Canada reserves the right to change the list without notice. If you use this list, it’s your responsibility to check it regularly for updates.

The list complements Health Canada’s list of non-novel determinations for food and food ingredients, which includes all other non-novel determinations for food use (that is, products not of plant breeding). 

The sale of a food or food ingredient that poses a hazard to the health of consumers violates the Food and Drugs Act.

List of non-novel products of plant breeding for food use

Date Product Name Plant Plant developer Technology Characteristic(s) Mechanism(s) of Action Food Use(s) Earliest Entry to Market Date
2023-10-20 RTM1 Rice Rice (Oryza sativa) RiceTec, Inc. Conventional breeding; classic mutagenesis Herbicide tolerance Mutation in a gene encoding a spatacsin-like protein Whole rice and rice-derived ingredients 2026
2023-05-09 AXigen® Wheat Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Limagrain Cereal Seeds, LLC Conventional breeding; classic mutagenesis Herbicide tolerance Mutation in a gene encoding an acetyl CoA carboxylase (aACCase) involved in lipid biosynthesis For use as wheat flour 2024
2023-03-20 YM-ALS-205 Yellow mustard (Sinapis alba) Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Conventional breeding; classic mutagenesis Herbicide tolerance Mutation in a gene encoding an acetolactate synthase (ALS) involved in amino acid synthesis Condiment mustard usage 2028
2023-03-07 GT22, GT23, GT24, GT28, GT29, GT30 Mustard greens (Brassica juncea) Pairwise Plant Services, Inc. Gene editing – CRISPR/Cas12a Reduced pungency to improve flavour Deletions, insertions, and/or inversions in a gene encoding a myrosinase enzyme involved in the breakdown of glucosinolates Leafy greens food usage 2023
2022-12-06 JA36 Potato (Solanum tuberosum) J.R. Simplot Company Gene editing – CRISPR/Cas9 Higher tuber set Deletions in a gene that results in higher tuber set Fresh and processed food 2024
2022-07-19 High Amylose Wheat Wheat (Triticum aestivum) Arista Cereal Technology Conventional breeding; classical mutagenesis High amylose starch Mutation in a gene involved in amylopectin production Wheat flour ingredients 2022
2022-07-19 RTA2 Rice Rice (Oryza sativa) RiceTec, Inc. Conventional breeding; classic mutagenesis Herbicide tolerance Mutation in a gene encoding a transcription factor Whole rice and rice-derived ingredients 2023
2022-07-18 IQ Alfalfa Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) Calyxt Inc. Gene editing - TALEN Modified forage quality through altered lignin polymer composition Mutation in a gene encoding a caffeic acid 3-O-methyltransferase involved in monolignol biosynthesis Not intended for food use 2023
2021-10-18 BJ-ALS-B653 and BJ-ALS-A653 Mustard (Brassica juncea) Mustard 21 Canada Inc. Conventional breeding; classical mutagenesis Herbicide tolerance Mutation in a gene encoding an acetolactate synthase (ALS) involved in amino acid synthesis Condiment mustard usage 2024
2020-10-16 Canola quality RF3 Canola (Brassica juncea) BASF Canada Inc. Conventional breeding; cross breeding Herbicide tolerance; Fertility restoration in hybrid lines after crossing Expression of a gene encoding a phosphinothricin acetyl transferase; Expression of a gene encoding Barstar protein, an inhibitor of Barnase protein Oil and meal 2026
2020-02-25 Next Generation Waxy corn Corn (Zea mays) Pioneer Hi-Bred Canada Company Gene editing - CRISPR/Cas9 High amylopectin starch Deletion of a gene involved in amylose production Starch Not available at this time
2016-08-18 5720 Canola (Brassica napus) Cibus US LLC Conventional breeding; tissue culture Herbicide tolerance Mutation in a gene encoding an acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) involved in amino acid synthesis Oil 2017

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