On May 20, 2016, AquaBounty Technologies, a majority-owned subsidiary of Intrexon, announced that Health Canada had concluded its review of the AquAdvantage Salmon (AAS) and had approved it for commercial sale in Canada. Additionally the Animal Feed Division of the Animal Health Directorate of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) determined that feed ingredients derived from AAS do not present livestock feed safety or nutrition concerns when compared with feeds derived from other permitted salmon to be used as livestock feed in Canada.

Health Canada (HC), the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for national public health, conducted a comprehensive assessment of AAS according to the Codex Alimentarius Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Animals. These guidelines are internationally accepted principles for establishing the safety of foods with novel traits. The safety assessment considered:

• how AAS was developed;
• how the composition and nutritional quality of AAS compares to non-modified salmon;   
• what the potential is for AAS to be toxic or cause allergic reactions; and
• the health status of AAS.

The Health Canada review concluded that AAS does not raise concerns related to food safety. The Department also noted its opinion that fillets derived from AAS are as safe and nutritious as fillets from currently available farmed Atlantic salmon.