Safe Food Matters’ Comments on Health Canada’s Proposed New Guidance on Novel Foods
Health Canada is the regulator of gene-edited foods, but in March, 2021 it proposed to hand this role over to industry. Safe Food Matters provided comments on the proposal, indicating the hand-over would amount to an “abdication” of regulatory authority, or an improper delegation of such authority. Relying on industry’s “safety determinations” is misguided because industry’s driving force is not safety but profit, and the hand-over may subject Health Canada to claims of regulatory negligence. Our short submission is here.
