Possible Solution Found for GM Flax Problem

Feb 08, 2010

The Canadian flax industry concludes the best way to work to eliminate the problem of genetically modified contaminated flax is with certified seed.

"A new protocol or what the trade is calling a triffid stewardship program has been put in place," says Quinton Stewart, Viterra's merchandiser of flax and soybeans, during an industry conference call earlier this week.

"All seeds going into ground must be tested and all seed destined for the European market specifically will be required to be seeded with certified seed," Stewart says.

As part of the protocol, certified seed will have to be tested and declared free of triffid before sold to producers. When the crop is harvested in the fall, it will be tested again for genetic modification before being approved for export to the European Union.

The new protocol is in response to trace amounts of a genetically modified flax variety, called CDC triffid, in an export shipment to Europe last summer. The EU has zero tolerance for genetically modified foods. The variety was developed in the late 1990s but was never commercially introduced to growers. Investigations are underway to determine the how the variety turned up in the current flax supply.

The impact of the European ban has had a huge impact on the Canadian flax industry. Shipments to the EU have been restricted ever since the trace levels of GM material were found. Over 70 per cent of Canadian flax exports are destined for that market.

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