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GENETICALLY MODIFIED WHEAT 2018
Incident Report
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada(Canadian Food Inspection Agency), 2018.CFIA P0951-18ISBN: 978-0-660-26780-7Catalogue No.: A104-141/2018E-PDFAussi disponible en français.Request other formats online or call 1-800-442-2342.If you use a teletypewriter (TTY), call 1-800-465-7735. Alternative format are available on demand.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TheCanadianFoodInspectionAgency(CFIA)wasnotifiedonJanuary31,2018,aboutafew
wheatplantsfoundonanaccessroadinsouthernAlbertathatsurvivedasprayingtreatmentforweeds.
TheCFIA’stestsconfirmedthatthewheatfoundisgeneticallymodifiedtobeherbicidetolerant.Geneticallymodified(GM)wheatisnotauthorizedtobegrowncommerciallyinanycountry.
Sincebeingnotified,theCFIAworkeddiligentlywithfederalandprovincialpartnersandotherstakeholderstodeterminetheoriginandextentoftheGMwheatplantstogetasmuchcomplete,accurate,andcredibleinformationaboutthisdiscoveryaspossible.Basedonextensivescientifictesting,thereisnoevidencethatthisGMwheatispresentanywhereotherthantheisolatedsitewhereitwasdiscovered.
Thereisalsonoevidencethatthiswheathasenteredthefoodoranimalfeedsystem,norisitpresentanywhereelseintheenvironment.
HealthCanadaandtheCFIAhaveperformedriskassessmentsofthisfinding,andhaveconcludedthatitdoesnotposeafoodsafety,animalfeed,orenvironmentalrisk.
ThewheatplantsfoundinAlbertaarenotamatchforanywheatauthorizedforsaleorforcommercialproductioninCanada.
TheCFIAhasdevelopedatesttodetectthisspecificGMwheat,whichcanbemadeavailabletotradingpartnerstotestwheatimports,iftheychoose.
TheCFIA,otherfederalandprovincialpartners,andindustryrepresentativeswereunabletospecificallyidentifythesourceoftheGMwheat.Multi-yearmonitoringwillbeconductedandmitigationmeasureswillbeadoptedatthesitetoverifythattheGMwheatdoesnotpersistinthearea.
1GM Wheat 2018
Incident Report2
DETECTION AND RESPONSE TO AN ISOLATED CASE OF NON-AUTHORIZED GENETICALLY MODIFIED WHEAT IN CANADA TheGovernmentofCanadahasastrongandrigorousregulatorysystemforGMcropsandthefoodsandanimalfeedsmadefromthem.Asatrustedscience-basedregulator,theCFIAiscommittedtobeingtransparentandaccountable.Thismeansreportingregulatorynon-compliancesofinteresttothepublic,industryandtradingpartners,evenwhenthereisnohealthorsafetyrisk.
ThisreportprovidesasummaryofactionstakenbytheCFIAandourfederalandprovincialpartnersinresponsetothefindingofasmallnumberofherbicidetolerantGMwheatplantsonanaccessroadinsouthernAlberta.
BACKGROUNDTheGovernmentofCanada’spriorityistoprotectCanada’senvironment,animalfeedandfoodsystemsbyusingarigorousscientificapproachinassessingsafetyandmanagingrisk.InCanada,HealthCanadaandtheCFIAaremandatedtoregulateproductsofbiotechnology,suchasGMcrops.TheCFIAisresponsibleforregulatingthereleaseofGMcropsintotheenvironmentundertheSeeds ActandSeeds Regulations.TheCFIAisalsoresponsibleforoverseeingthemanufacturing,saleandimportoflivestockfeedsincludingnovelfeedsundertheFeeds ActandtheFeeds Regulations.
HealthCanadaisresponsibleforassessingthesafetyofnovelfoodsforhumanconsumptioninCanadaundertheFood and Drugs ActandFood and Drugs Regulations.
GMwheatisnotauthorizedinanycountryforcommercialproduction,asnocompanyhassoughtcommercialization.However,herbicidetolerantGMcropsincludingcanola,cornandsoybeanshavebeenauthorizedinCanadaformorethan20years.AssessmentsbyHealthCanadaandtheCFIAhaveshownthattheseGMcropsareassafeastheirnon-genetically
Herbicide-tolerant GM crops including canola, corn and soybeans have been authorized in Canada for more than 20 years
3Genetically Modified Wheat 2018
modifiedequivalentsanddonotposearisktohumanhealth,thehealthofanimalsortheenvironment.TheCFIA’swebsitehasacompletelistofcropsthathavebeenauthorizedandfoodsafetydecisionscanalsobefoundonHealthCanada’swebsite.
ConfinedresearchfieldtrialsforGMwheathavebeenconductedsincethe1990sinwheat-growingregionsofCanada.TrialshavealsobeenconductedaroundtheworldincountriesincludingtheUnitedKingdom,UnitedStatesandAustralia.ThesetrialsallowinformationtobegatheredonthesafetyandsuitabilityofthenewGMlinesforcommercialuse,whichsupportseconomicactivityandinnovationinCanada’sagriculturalsector.TheCFIAhasstrictandrigorousconditionsforthesetrialstoallowproductdeveloperstotesttheirnewGMvarietiesinthefield,underconditionsofconfinement.
AlltrialsareinspectedbytheCFIAtoconfirmcompliancewiththeseconditions.TherehavebeennocasesofanyexperimentalplantmaterialfromthesetrialspersistingintheCanadianenvironment.NoneofthewheattrialshaveoccurredatornearthelocationwheretheGMwheatplantswerefound,andthereisnoevidencedirectlylinkingthecurrentGMwheatfindingwiththesepreviouslyauthorizedtrials.TheinformationonconfinedresearchfieldtrialsismadepublicandcanbefoundontheCFIAwebsite.
TherehavebeenincidentsofunauthorizedGMwheatreleasesinotherjurisdictions.TheUnitedStatesreportedthreeseparateincidentsofunauthorizedGMwheatreleaseswhichoccurredinOregonin2013,inMontanain2014,andinWashingtonin2016.TheseincidentsinvolvedGMwheatlinesthataregeneticallydifferentfromthe
4 Incident Report
GMwheatfoundinAlberta.ThereisnoevidencelinkingCanada’sGMwheatfindingtopreviousUnitedStatescases.SimilartoCanada’sfinding,GMwheatcasesintheUnitedStateswereisolatedincidents,andGMwheatdidnotentercommerce.
CFIA ACTIVITIES
Discovery and notificationDuringthe2017growingseason,aherbicideapplicationcontractorinsouthernAlbertareportedwheatplantsthatsurvivedaglyphosateherbicidetreatment(Roundup)tolocalauthorities.TheProvinceofAlbertacollectedsamplesfortesting,andconfirmedinlateJanuaryof2018thatthewheatwasherbicidetolerant.
OnJanuary31,2018,theCFIAwasnotifiedbytheGovernmentofAlbertathatafewherbicidetolerantwheatplantswerefoundinsouthernAlberta.TheCFIA,incollaborationwithfederalandprovincialpartners,immediatelyundertookcomprehensive,risk-basedstepstodeterminetheoriginandpotentialextentofthesewheatplants.
Confirmation that the herbicide tolerant wheat is genetically modifiedOnFebruary12,2018,theCFIA’sOttawaGenotyping/BotanyLaboratoryreceivedsamplesofthewheatseedfromAlberta.TheCFIAconductedseveralDNA-based
analyses,includingpolymerasechainreaction(PCR)amplificationsofvariouscommonGMDNAsequences.Thisconfirmedthatthewheatwasgeneticallymodified,sinceitcontainedpiecesofDNAthatareknowntobeusedinGMplantsandthatdonotoccurnaturallyinwheat.
Inadditiontoconclusivelyshowingthatthewheatwasgeneticallymodified,thisworkhelpedtoexcludecertainGMwheatlinesfromconsiderationasbeingthesourceoftheGMwheatinAlberta.TheCFIAmaintainsadatabaseofallGMcropsthathadbeenpreviouslyplantedinconfinedresearchfieldtrialsinCanada.BydeterminingwhichspecificpiecesofengineeredDNAwerepresentorabsentintheGMwheat,theCFIAwasabletonarrowdownthelistofpossibleGMwheatlinesforfurthertesting.
Identification of the genetically modified wheat DNA sequenceAsaresultofthisanalysis,theCFIAwasabletofocusonashortlistofthreepossibilitiesbelongingtotwodifferentcompanies.OnFebruary22,2018,theCFIAcontactedbothofthesecompanies,whohadfield-testedGMwheatlinesinpasttrials,toobtainmethodsandmaterialsfordetectingtheirrespectiveGMwheatlines.ObtainingthesematerialsandmethodswasimportanttoallowtheCFIAtoidentifytheGMwheat.
OnMarch13,2018,theCFIAwasabletoeliminateonecompany’swheatlineasthepotentialsourceoftheGMwheat.IncollaborationwithMonsanto,thesecondcompany,theCFIAwasabletoconclusively
5Genetically Modified Wheat 2018
determinethattheAlbertaGMwheatisnotageneticmatchtopreviousunapprovedGMwheatreleasesintheUnitedStates.
Throughfurthercollaboration,onApril8,2018,theCFIAconfirmedthattheAlbertawheatsamplewasamatchforaMonsantoGMwheatline(MON71200),whichwasusedinmultipleconfinedresearchfieldtrialsinthelate1990sandearly2000sinbothCanadaandtheUnited
States.Thephysicallocationsoftheconfinedresearchfieldtrialswereapproximately300kilometresormoreawayfromwheretheGMwheatplantswerefoundinAlberta.Giventhepassageoftimeandlargedistancesinvolved,thereisnoevidencethatwouldexplainhoworifthecurrentGMwheatfindingislinkedwithaprevioustrial.
The GM wheat found in Alberta is not a genetic match to previous unapproved GM wheat releases in the United States
6 Incident Report
Background variety identification: providing assurance that Canada’s seed and grain is free from GM wheatAtthesametimethattheCFIAwasworkingtoidentifytheinsertedGMDNAsequence,theCFIAwaslookingattherestofthewheat’sDNAtolearnmoreaboutitsidentity,usingatechniqueknownasDNAfingerprinting.DNAfingerprintingfunctionslikeabarcode,andallowsalivingthingtobeidentifiedbytheuniquepatternswithinitsDNA.TheCFIAmaintainsadatabaseofhundredsofDNAfingerprintsthatallowsustorecognizewheatvarietiesbythepatternsintheirDNA.TheCanadianGrainCommission(CGC)maintainsasimilardatabase.
BoththeCGCandtheCFIAusedDNAfromtheAlbertaGMwheattobuildafingerprintandcompareittothefingerprintsalreadystoredinthesedatabases.OnMarch23,2018,theCFIA,incollaborationwiththeCGC,confirmedthattheGMwheatplantsfoundinAlbertawerenotamatchforanycurrentlyregisteredwheatseedvarietyinCanada.TheGMwheathasauniqueDNAfingerprintthatdoesnotmatchanyoftheapproximately450wheatvarietiesonfilewiththeCFIAandtheCGC.Thismeansthat,aswheatmustberegisteredpriortosaleorimportintoCanada,farmerswhopurchaseregisteredseedvarietiescanrestassuredthatthesevarietiesarefreefromGMwheat.
TheDNAfingerprintwasalsocheckedagainstCanada’sgrainexports.TheCGCsamplesandmonitorsallbulkwheatexportshipmentsforqualityassurancepurposes.Partofthisroutinemonitoringincludesverifyingthevarietiesofwheatthatarepresentinashipmentusing
The CFIA maintains adatabase of hundredsofDNAfingerprints thatallows us to recognizeapproximately
The GM wheat plantsfoundinAlbertawerenotamatchforanycurrentlyregistered wheat seedvarietyinCanada.
DNA FINGERPRINTING
450wheat varieties by thepatternsintheirDNA.
7Genetically Modified Wheat 2018
DNAfingerprinting.Overthelastthreecropyears,nearly170,000individualkernelsofgrainfrommorethan1,500exportshipmentshavebeenanalyzed.Throughareviewofthedata,nomatchesforthistypeofGMwheathaveeverbeenfoundbytheCGC.TheCFIAwillcontinuetoworkincollaborationwiththeCGCtomonitorCanadiangraintomakesureitdoesnotcontainanyvarietiesthatdonotconformtowhatshouldbeinbulkexportshipments.
TofurtherverifythatCanadiangraindoesnotcontainanyGMwheat,theCFIAandtheCGCcollaborativelyundertooktestingofcompositewheatsamplesfromtheprairieregion.OnApril9,2018,theCGCsentfivecompositewheatsamplesfromitsHarvestSampleProgramtotheCFIAforfurtheranalysis.ThesecompositesamplesarerepresentativeofwesternCanadianwheatclasses,andincludedatotalof1692individualsamples.BoththeCFIAandCGCindependentlytestedthesesamplesforGMwheat.OnApril26,2018,theCFIAconfirmedthatnoGMwheatwasdetected.ThisresultwasindependentlyconfirmedbytheCGC.
Detection method for GM wheat
OnApril6,2018,CFIAfinalizedthedevelopmentandvalidationofa2-stagePCR-basedmethodtoconclusivelydetecttheGMwheat.ThismethodissensitiveenoughtodetectoneGMwheatkernelin1,000.
TheCFIAalsosequencedtheGMwheat’sDNAtolearnmoreaboutitsidentityandtobeginthedevelopmentofasecond,moreefficient1-stagePCRtesttodetectthisGMwheat.ByperformingDNAsequencing,theCFIAwasabletofindwheretheengineeredDNAfragmentwasinsertedintothewheat’sDNA.ThisknowledgeformedthebasisfordevelopingaPCR-based
testthatselectivelyamplifiestheDNAsequenceatthejunctionbetweenthenaturalwheatgenomeandtheinsertedengineeredDNA.Inthisway,thetestcanbeperformedinasinglestagethatishighlyselectivefordetectingthepresenceoftheinsertedDNAinthisGMwheat.
Testing seed and grain from the surrounding area for GM wheat
Havingidentifiedtheunknownwheat’sgeneticmodificationanddevelopedatesttodetectit,theCFIAcontinuedtosystematicallyexploreleadstodeterminethesourceandthepotential
170,000
WERE ANALYZEDEXPORT SHIPMENTS
NO MATCHES
KERNELS OF GRAIN FROM
1,500
WERE FOUND
8 Incident Report
extentoftheunauthorizedGMwheatplantsontheaccessroadwheretheywerediscovered,andatthefarmoperationthatownsthisland.
OnApril20,2018,theCFIAhelditsfirstinaseriesofmeetingswiththelandownertodiscussthehistoryofthelandneartheaccessroad,thecroprotationsonallfieldstheyfarm,theagriculturalpracticesonthefarm,aswellasthelocationandcontentsofanymaterialsinstorage.TheCFIAconductedsignificantonsitesamplingandtestingofallwheatstoredonthefarmandgrainthathadwheatpresent.Theseinspectionactivitiesextendedtotheentirefarmingoperationincludingninefieldscoveringapproximately1500acresoffarmedland.AllsamplingactivitiesofseedandgrainwerecompletedbasedonCFIA’sseedsamplingprotocolthatalignswithInternationalSeedTestingAssociation(ISTA)seedsamplingprocedures.
TheCFIAwasnotabletoidentifyanythingrelatedtothemanagementpracticesofthefarmthatcouldbelinkedtoGMwheat.Thelandownerownsanddoesnotshareseedingandharvestequipment.Theequipmentiscleanedinthefieldoryardandnotoffsite.Allfertilizerandherbicidetreatmentsaredonebythelandownerusingtypicalapplicationapproaches.Thisfarmingoperationplantscanola,wheat,andbarley.AllseedsamplestestednegativefortheGMwheat.Noseedwaseversoldbythelandowners.Therehavebeennoconfinedresearchfieldtrialsonthesite,orconsultantsorcropscoutswhohavevisitedthefarm.Allleadswerethoroughlyexplored.
Duringthissametimeperiod,theCFIAalsointerviewedtheleaseholderswhousetheaccessroad.TheCFIAwasnotabletoidentifyanythinglinkingthemanagementoftheroadwaytotheGMwheat.Theleaseholderconfirmedthattherehasbeennoconstructionworkdoneontheroadinthelastfiveyears.Alongtheaccessroad,therehasbeennogroundcoverseedingoftheroadditchesandnostrawmatswereused.Maintenancerecordsfortheaccessroadindicatethatwheatplantswerefirstidentifiedin2017asaweedtobecontrolledalongtheroad.
OnMay1,2018,CFIAtestresultsforthefarmingoperation’sseedandstoredgrainwereallconfirmedtobenegativefor
GRAINCANADIAN
1,692 INDIVIDUAL
SAMPLES WERE TESTED
NO GM WHEATWAS FOUND
The CFIA will continue to monitor over the next 3 years
9Genetically Modified Wheat 2018
GMwheat.ThisfindingindicatesthatGMwheatwasnotpresentinthefarm’s2017harvestedcrops.
OnMay8,2018,assoonasthefieldsweredryenough,theCFIAconductedadditionalsamplingandtestinginthefieldalongtheperimeterofthediscoverysite.TheobjectivewastodeterminewhethertheremainsofanyotherGMwheatplantsfromthepreviousseasonwerepresentnearthesiteoftheoriginalfinding.CFIAinspectorswalkedasearchpatternonbothsidesoftheaccessroad.Theaccessroadis500metreslong,andthesearchpatternextended60metresintothefieldfromeachsideoftheaccessroad.Thismeansthatinspectorssearcheda60,000squaremetrearea,collectingallwheatplantremains.Atotalof284wheatheadswerefoundandcollectedatvariousdistancesfromtheaccessroadandweresubmittedfortesting.OnMay23,thesesampleswereconfirmedtobenegativeforthepresenceofGMwheat,withtheexceptionof4wheatheads,whichtestedpositiveforthespecificGMwheatevent(MON71200).ThesefourGMwheatheadswerelocatedwithina0-15metrezonefromtheaccessroad.Thiswasnotsurprising,givenitsproximitytotheoriginalfindalongtheaccessroad.ThisindicatesthattheGMwheatispresentonlyinahighlylocalizedarea.
TheCFIAisundertakingmulti-yearmonitoringandthelandownerisadoptingmitigationmeasuresonthefieldsurroundingtheaccessroadtoverifythattheGMwheatdoesnotpersistinthearea.Thesemeasuresincluderegularlymonitoringthesite,destroyinganywheatthatmaygerminateduringthegrowingseasonandplacingrestrictionsonthecropsthatcanbegrownatthislocation.Thefieldmonitoringwillcontinuethroughouttheentiregrowingseason,i.e.followingsnowmeltuntilfirstfrost,forthethreegrowingseasons(2018-2020)followingdetection.TheCFIAwilladjusttheresponseandmitigationmeasuresasrequiredbasedonanypotentialnewfindings.
Completion of Risk Assessments
OnMay9,2018,riskassessmentsexaminingpotentialimplicationsoftheunauthorizedGMwheattofood,animalfeed,andtheenvironmentwerecompletedbyHealthCanadaandtheCFIA.TheseriskassessmentsdeterminedthattheherbicidetolerantGMwheatdoesnotposearisktopublichealth,thehealthofanimalsortheenvironment.GMcropswiththisherbicidetolerancetraithavebeenauthorizedinCanadaforover20yearsandtherehavebeennohumanhealthconcernsidentifiedrelatedtothesecrops.
FIELDS9 1,500
60,000INSPECTORSSEARCHED A
AND COLLECTED 284 WHEAT HEADS
M2
THIS COVERED APPROXIMATELY
OF FARMED LANDACRES
WERE SAMPLED AND TESTED
AREA
10 Incident Report
CONCLUSIONSAftercomprehensivetesting,analysisandevaluation,theCFIAandotherfederalandprovincialpartners,canconfirmthatnoGMwheathasenteredthefoodorfeedsystem,norisitpresentanywhereelseintheenvironment.Furthermore,thisGMwheatisnotamatchforanywheatauthorizedforsaleorforcommercialproductioninCanada,demonstratingthatCanadianwheatseedisfreefromGMwheat.Resultsfromseedandgrainsamplescollectedfromthefarmoperationwereallnegative,meaningnopresenceoftheGMwheatwasfound.Thecompositegrainsamplescontainingwheatfromthediscoverysite’sgeographicregiontestednegativeforthepresenceofGMwheat.StakeholderinterviewsandongoingfieldmonitoringtodatepointtoahighlylocalizedpresenceofGMwheatalongtheaccessroad.
HealthCanada’sfoodsafetyriskassessmentandtheCFIA’sanimalfeedandenvironmentalriskassessmentsdemonstratethattheGMwheatdoesnotposeafoodsafetyrisktothepublic,ananimalfeedorenvironmentalrisk.
TheCFIAincooperationwithotherfederal,provincial,andindustrypartnerswasabletoidentifytheGMwheatanddeterminethelimitedscopeofitspresence,butwasunabletospecificallyidentifythesourceoftheGMwheat.Allevidence-basedlinesofinquirywerepursuedandhavenotresultedinanyfurtheravenuestobeexplored.Goingforward,theCFIAwillfocusonmonitoringthesiteandwillverifythatallGMwheatthatmaygerminateisdestroyed.
TheCFIAisconfidentintheresultsoftheextensivetesting,butavalidatedtestcouldbesharedwithtradingpartnersshouldtheyrequestit.
VISIT WWW.INSPECTION.GC.CA/WHEATDETECTION TO LEARN MORE