The spread of food products containing genetically modified organisms worries the public and governments around the world, including Russia. Ensuring food safety in this context involves certain actions on the part of regulatory authorities. The article discusses the problems of regulating the introduction of food products containing GMOs into the Canadian food market. A specific feature of the Canadian food market is the presence of genetically engineered salmon. It is noted that the decision on admission to the market of GM products in Canada is based on the data of manufacturers, which is closed to the public and independent experts. Thus the mechanism of regulation of GMOs does not include mandatory special labeling and is generally opaque. It is noted that the promises of the Canadian government to update the Canadian Environmental Protection Act in order to better inform consumers about the composition and aspects of food production have led only to minor changes that do not solve, in particular, the problem of allowing animal products on the consumer market. The specificities of regulating GM foods in Canada are such that the Canadian GMO regulatory system has two competing goals: to support production and protect public safety. Such features of GMO regulation in Canada do not allow it to be completely objective and transparent, which cannot but concern its foreign trade partners, which Russia was before the start of the special military operation in Ukraine. The approaches considered with regards to the regulation of GMOs in Canada are of scientific and practical interest to domestic specialists and may be useful in improving Russian legislation in this area.
genetically modified organisms; genetic engineering; regulation; food safety assessment; breeding.