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:

• Health Canada's transparency initiative (TI) process for non-novel gene-edited plant products
  • plant developers of non-novel gene-edited plants notify the department prior to the commercialization of their product
• Health Canada's novelty determination process
  • plant developers may seek determination on the novelty status of their product
  • products submitted through this process may be early in development. As a result, the plant developer may be unable to provide an 'earliest entry to market' date. For these products, this date will be noted in the list as 'not available at this time'. Plant developers are encouraged to provide this information at a future date

This list is published to:

• increase transparency of non-novel products of plant breeding used in the Canadian food supply
• allow interested parties to verify what products of plant breeding are considered non-novel

The information contained in this list is:

• free of confidential business information
• not associated with any specific health and safety considerations

Products on this list:

• are considered non-novel for use as a food or food ingredient
• must comply with all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements for food
• didn't require a pre-market safety assessment by Health Canada for food use as their safety is already well-characterized (that is, as non-novel foods)

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
2024-07-03	GT-225, GT-226, GT-241, GT-267, GT-252, GT-254, GT-269, GT-270, GT-280, GT-286, GT-288, GT-290, GT-291, GT-292, GT-302, GT-303, GT-304, GT-313, GT-314, GT-351, GT-352	Mustard greens (Brassica juncea)	Pairwise Plant Services, Inc.	Gene editing – CRISPR/Cas	Reduced pungency	Deletions, insertions, and/or inversions in a gene encoding an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of certain glucosinolates	Leafy greens usage	2024
					Reduced trichomes	Deletions, insertions, and/or inversions in a gene encoding a transcription factor involved in the expression of certain genes transcribed in the epidermal cells that leads to trichome development
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