Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Science Branch
Office of Biotechnology

Seeking Expert Advice on Regulating Biotechnology-Derived Agricultural Products

The science of biotechnology progresses rapidly, and the regulation of biotechnology-derived agricultural products has to keep pace with these scientific advances. To accomplish this, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regulators and evaluators must continually update their scientific knowledge and expand their ability to respond to new developments. We routinely seek advice and comments from experts and then review and respond to the recommendations and opinions we receive.

Seeking expert advice

In addition to the information that developers provide when seeking approval to produce and market new agricultural or food products in Canada, the CFIA listens to and evaluates various points of view. We gather peer-reviewed scientific literature and keep up to date by reading scientific publications, doing literature reviews, and attending scientific conferences.

We also gain other expert advice from the scientific community itself. We collect this advice by:

• holding discussions with recognized scientific experts
• commissioning research studies from academia or government scientists
• holding technical workshops with academia, industry, and agricultural or agronomic experts from Canada and other countries
• establishing advisory panels with a specific focus or mandate

The CFIA routinely incorporates this and other expert scientific advice into its ever-evolving regulatory system.

Responding to expert advice

Along with other federal agencies and departments, we seek information from, and respond to, research carried out by expert bodies such as the Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee (CBAC) and the Royal Society of Canada (RSC).

In February 2000, for example, the Government of Canada asked the RSC to appoint an independent panel of experts to give advice as to how to maintain the safety of new biotechnology-derived food products. The resulting RSC report, Elements of Precaution: Recommendations for the Regulation of Food Biotechnology in Canada, made several recommendations to which the CFIA and other government departments responded by developing an action plan. This action plan, together with reports on our progress, is posted on Health Canada’s Web site.

A committee of independent experts, the CBAC was set up by the Government of Canada in 1999 to advise government agencies on biotechnology-related issues and to raise Canadians’ awareness and include them in discussions about biotechnology. The Committee held several consultations about food biotechnology that resulted in the report, Improving the Regulation of Genetically Modified Foods and other Novel Foods in Canada. The recommendations in this report were guided by research, consultations, and feedback from key stakeholder groups and the public, as well as from the GM Food Steering Committee and other CBAC members.

Research

The CFIA has undertaken several research-related initiatives to strengthen its science-based regulatory system. These include commissioning several studies to build upon our existing knowledge of biotechnology and the potential impact of new agricultural products. Studies have been completed on the effects of Bt corn on insects, biodiversity, gene flow, and herbicide-resistance management for PNTs.

For example, the CFIA, in co-operation with Environment Canada, has commissioned research into the potential risk of Bt corn on monarch butterflies. Results of this research became part of a body of work collected in the "Final Report on the Ecological Impact of Bt Corn Pollen on the Monarch Butterfly in Ontario".  The research led to the conclusion that the risks to monarch butterflies from Bt corn pollen is less than 1/100 of 1 percent. You can find more information in the fact sheet, "Do Bt Crops Affect Monarch Butterflies?"

Other research supported by the CFIA is described in our progress reports to the Royal Society of Canada, as noted above.