Tag Archives: Health Canada

Nova Scotia communities await decision on contentious pulp mill pipeline

Allan MacCarthy, a fisherman based in Pictou County, said fishermen remain convinced the effluent would pose a threat to lobster, crab, herring and other species in the strait over time. His protests landed him in court last year when a temporary injunction was imposed ordering him to stop blocking survey activities by the company. “Until the minister announces it (the decision), there’s not much we can do. >click to read< 08:04

4.5 tonnes of unmarked genetically modified salmon fillets sold in Canada

It appears Canadians were among the first diners in the world to eat a genetically modified animal — and they likely didn’t know it. U.S.-based AquaBounty Technologies said in a recent fiscal update about 4.5 tonnes of its fresh AquAdvantage salmon fillets were sold in Canada between April and June. The company got approval from Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection agency last year to sell the product. AquaBounty — which has a production plant in P.E.I. — did not say exactly where the salmon was sold. click here to read the story 16:20

Canada approves genetically modified salmon for sale to public

aqua bountyCanadian grocery stores have received the regulatory green light to begin selling fast-growing, genetically modified salmon – the first such species to gain such approval from federal agencies. Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced Thursday they had completed a scientific review of AquAdvantage’s salmon and it has passed the final regulatory hurdle for the farmed fish. The fish was developed by U.S.-based biotechnology firm AquaBounty Technologies Inc. to promote rapid growth of the fish during early life, using a growth hormone gene from the Chinook salmon in an Atlantic salmon. The company has one facility in Canada, in Bay Fortune, P.E.I., and a production centre in Panama. Dave Conley, a spokesman for the firm, said in an email that it will be a year or more before the firm has any production of market-sized fish. Read the rest here 18:53

Japanese reactor radiation detected off Vancouver Island, B.C.

University of Victoria chemical oceanographer Jay Cullen said Monday that it’s the first time radiation has been found on the shorelines of North America since the quake and tsunami ravaged the Japanese north coast and disabled the nuclear reactor. “We’re more than a thousand-fold below even the drinking water standard in the coastal waters being sampled at this point. Those levels are much, much, much lower than what’s allowable in our drinking water.” Read the rest here 15:28