Government permits grocery stores to sell unlabelled genetically engineered pork
January 25, 2026. (Halifax) The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network opposes Health Canada’s approval of gene-edited pigs for human consumption.
“If gene-edited pigs actually get produced and sold, Canadians won’t know if the meat in their grocery cart is from these genetically engineered animals,” said Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator for the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network. “Health Canada has approved meat from gene-edited pigs without any requirement to label it.”
There is no mandatory labelling of genetically engineered (genetically modified) foods in Canada, though an October 2025 national public opinion poll found that 83% of Canadians want mandatory labelling.
“There is a transparency crisis in our food system,” said Sharratt. “If the government is going to allow companies to produce genetically engineered animals and plants, these foods have to be labelled for consumers.”
The pigs are genetically engineered using the gene editing technique of CRISPR to make the animals resistant to the common Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRS). The animals were genetically engineered by the large global animal genetics company Genus PLC. It’s subsidiary the Pig Improvement Company (PIC), based in the UK, is promoting the product.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the same gene-edited pig in April 2025, and the company says it is also seeking approval in Mexico and Japan.
There are no genetically engineered animals currently produced or sold in Canada. In 2017, Canadians were the first in the world to eat a genetically engineered food animal, a genetically engineered Atlantic salmon, but production was stopped in 2024.
In December 2025, Health Canada paused a decision to allow meat from cloned animals onto the market without safety assessments and labelling, naming “significant input” from the public and industry as the reason.
Unlike gene-edited animals, gene-edited crop plants will not be assessed for food safety by Health Canada.
The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, or CBAN, brings together 14 groups including farmer associations, environmental and social justice organizations, and regional coalitions of grassroots groups. CBAN, a project of the MakeWay Charitable Society, has been monitoring issues related to genetic engineering in food and farming since 2007.
For more information: Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, coordinator@cban.ca 902 209 4906 www.cban.ca/animals
