‘Environs’ Clears Initial Regulatory Hurdle - USDA FAS

‘Environs’ Clears Initial Regulatory Hurdle - USDA FAS

Environment Canada recently determined that the genetically engineered Enviropig is not toxic to the environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. The developers of Enviropig, the University of Guelph, applied for approval for commercialization both in Canada and the United States. This is the first of three regulatory hurdles which must be met in Canada. Full regulatory approval will also be dependent on other essential considerations such as consumer and market acceptance via Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The Enviropig, the world's first transgenic animal created to solve an environmental problem, was created in 1999 with a snippet of mouse DNA introduced into their chromosomes, which causes the pigs to produce reduced phosphorus feces.