OTTAWA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BIOTECanada congratulates AquaBounty on receiving Health Canada regulatory approval today for its AquAdvantage salmon.
“This is a significant development for AquaBounty and the world’s population more broadly. As the world moves rapidly towards nine billion people it is imperative that we find more effective and efficient ways to live our lives and grow our food. Biotechnology innovations such as the AquAdvantage salmon point to the enormous potential biotech solutions represent in addressing this global environmental and social challenge of feeding a growing population more efficiently and with less of an impact on the planet,” commented Andrew Casey, President and CEO BIOTECanada.
The Canadian technology emanating from Memorial University developed the AquAdvantage salmon by introducing a growth hormone gene from Chinook salmon into the genome of Atlantic salmon. This results in a salmon which grows faster and reaches market size quicker and AquAdvantage salmon is identical to other farmed salmon. The AquAdvantage salmon also received US FDA approval in November 2015. With the growing world population, AquaBounty is one of many biotechnology companies offering safe and sustainable means to enhance the security and supply of food in the world. AquaBounty has improved the productivity of aquaculture through its use of biotechnology and modern breeding technics that have led to the development of AquAdvantage salmon.
“Importantly, today’s approval is a result of a four year science-based regulatory approval process which involved four federal government departments including Agriculture and AgriFood, Canada Food Inspection Agency, Environment and Climate Change, Fisheries and Oceans and Health which demonstrates the rigour and scope of science based regulatory approvals in Canada. Coupled with the report from the National Academy of Sciences today’s approval clearly demonstrates that genetic engineering of food is not only necessary but also extremely safe,” concluded Casey.
BIOTECanada is the national industry association with more than 230 members reflecting the diverse nature of Canada’s health, industrial and agricultural biotechnology sectors. In addition to providing significant health benefits for Canadians, the biotechnology industry has quickly become an essential part of the transformation of many traditional cornerstones of the Canadian economy including manufacturing, automotive, energy, aerospace and forestry industries. Biotechnology in all of its applications from health, agriculture and industrial is offering solutions for the collective population.
