1st Session, 37th Parliament,
49-50 Elizabeth II, 2001

House of Commons of Canada

BILL C-310

An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (mandatory labelling for genetically modified foods)

R.S., c. F-27

      Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

1. Section 2 of the Food and Drugs Act is amended by adding, in alphabetical order, the following:

``genetically modified''
« modifié génétiquement »

``genetically modified'', with respect to a food or one of its components, means that the genetic make-up of the food or component has been modified by a technique that combines DNA fragments of the food or component with DNA fragments from another source in a way that could not occur without the use of modern technology;

2. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 7:

Genetically modified food

Duties of Minister

7.1 (1) The Minister is responsible for establishing, on the basis of scientific evidence, that a food or one or more of its components are genetically modified.

Publication in the Canada Gazette

(2) As soon as the Minister declares that a food or one or more of its components are genetically modified, the Minister shall cause the name of the food to be published in the Canada Gazette.

List

(3) The Minister shall prepare a list of all foods whose names have been published in the Canada Gazette under subsection (2) and shall cause a copy to be sent at no cost to any person who requests it.

Internet

(4) The Minister shall cause an electronic version of the list to be posted on a site of the Government of Canada that is generally accessible to persons who have access to what is commonly referred to as the Internet.

Access to the Internet

(5) The Minister shall ensure that an electronic version of any list posted on the Internet under subsection (4) is accessible, without a password, free and in downloadable form.

Sale prohibited

7.2 Beginning on the sixteenth day following publication of the name of a food in the Canada Gazette under subsection 7.1(2), no person shall sell the food or a food product of which the food is a component in a package, unless a label in the prescribed form is affixed to the package that contains the following notice:

This product or one or more of its
components have been genetically modified

Ce produit ou un ou plusieurs de ses
composants ont été modifiés génétiquement

Sale prohibited

7.3 Beginning on the sixteenth day following publication of the name of a food in the Canada Gazette under subsection 7.1(2), no person shall sell the food or a food product of which the food is a component without a package, unless a sign in the prescribed form is posted near the food that contains the following notice:

Genetically modified
Modifié génétiquement

1993, c. 44, s. 158; 1994, c. 47, s. 117; 1999, c. 33, s. 347

3. Subsection 30(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (e):

    (e.1) respecting the form of the label referred to in section 7.2 and the sign referred to in section 7.3;