Gene-edited pigs have been approved by Health Canada as safe to eat.
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Health Canada said Friday that food made from pigs engineered to be resistant to a porcine virus is as safe and nutritious as the pork currently on the market.
federal regulator announced Pigs resistant to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) – what it calls a devastating class of viruses in farmed pigs – are safe to use in food and livestock feed.
Genes PLC, a UK-based business that sells specific genetics to farmers, and Winnipeg-based PIC Canada, Ltd. have applied to Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, respectively, to market gene-edited products as food and feed.
Health Canada said improving resistance to PRRSV in pigs will help herds avoid disease caused by these viruses, reduce antibiotic use and improve animal welfare, while supporting a more stable, affordable and sustainable food supply.
Pigs resistant to the genus PLC are already allowed for food use in the US, Brazil, Colombia and the Dominican Republic. The Company does not intend to sell these pigs in other major markets prior to regulatory approval, health canada Said.
“Since Health Canada found no health and safety concerns, no special labeling is required for these PRRSV-resistant pig foods.”
More than 25 years ago, Scientists at Memorial University in Newfoundland Developed a salmon that would become the first genetically modified food animal approved for sale in Canada.
At the time, the Canadian Council said it was concerned about the amount of water extracted, waste water and transportation of eggs between facilities.
Unlike genetically modified salmon, Scientists say the PRRSV-resistant pigs were created using CRISPR gene-editing technology that makes precise genetic changes without introducing foreign genetic material.
CRISPR technology has also been experimentally applied in medicine. In 2025, doctors in the US use CRISPR to personalize gene therapy an infant With a rare and dangerous genetic disease.
In 2023, Britain’s drug regulator authorized the world’s first gene-therapy treatments for sickle cell disease and thalassemia, which are caused by errors in the genes that carry hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen.
