Canadian regulators are puzzled by the discovery of seven genetically modified wheat stalks in southern Alberta that contain herbicide-tolerant genes, said the Manitoba Cooperator, but they say there’s no sign of GMO wheat in the country’s seed or wheat supplies. No country has approved GMO wheat for commercial use. Japan suspended purchases of Canadian wheat on Friday until it is certain there are no GMOs in the grain, reported Global News.
Japan is the No. 2 customer for Canadian wheat exports.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it determined the wheat, spotted last summer at the edge of a field by an herbicide applicator, contained a gene to withstand glyphosate, a weedkiller commonly used in combination with GMO crops. The CFIA, with assistance from Monsanto, said it determined the plants were a different strain than those found in Oregon in 2013 or in Washington state in 2014 and 2016, reported the Cooperator. Said the CFIA, “There is no evidence linking Canada’s GM wheat finding to previous U.S. cases.” The 2013 case prompted Japan and South Korea to suspend temporarily purchases of U.S. wheat.
Monsanto Canada said it performed field trials on the strain that CFIA identified in Alberta but that it dropped that line from research in 2000. A CFIA official said the test site for the GMO wheat was “many hundreds of kilometers away from the discovery site and many years ago.” The GMO wheat has a genetic background that does not match any currently registered wheat in Canada, a fact that gives regulators confidence that GMO wheat is not in commercial channels.
The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network said it was relieved to see the GMO wheat was an isolated case, but, “Without knowing the cause, contamination could occur again.” The CFIA said the GMO wheat stalks were destroyed and it would monitor for three years the field where they were found.