Forty-two foods have been approved. Any approved product must first have been shown to be as safe as foods already on the market. The foods that have been approved to date represent relatively modest examples of genetic engineering. A scientific comparison of their traits with those of conventional foods indicates that they are no less safe than conventional foods which have been safely part of the Canadian diet for a long time. The comparative approach permits linking the composition of the new food to existing products with a history of safe use, permitting prediction of the impact of the new food in the diet.
Differences identified in the comparison are the focus of further detailed assessment.
However, as the science advances, should developments in the technology result in modifications that provide significantly different nutrient combinations or other novel food characteristics not previously encountered in the food supply, such foods may require additional considerations to permit comprehensive assessment. The guidelines for the safety assessment of novel foods provide this flexibility of approach. If Health Canada and CFIA scientists' assessments indicate that longer terms studies are required, the food will not be approved and the organization applying for approval will be required to undertake the longer term studies and submit further detail before their application is considered further. At this time no products representing such true novelty to the food supply have been proposed for commercialization. Our approach to assessing the safety of genetically modified foods is based on comparing the genetically modified food with a conventional non-modified food with a long history of safe use.