What are “unauthorized plant products derived through biotechnology”?
A.1 Unauthorized plant products derived through biotechnology are those that would normally trigger food, feed or environmental safety assessments if they were meant to be used or released in Canada, but have not received the required authorizations from Health Canada and/or the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Being unauthorized does not mean that a product is unsafe. It means the product has not been assessed, therefore its safety is unknown. However, the presence of an unauthorized plant product derived through biotechnology in the Canadian food or feed supply or environment violates Canadian regulations regardless of whether there are potential safety concerns.
