Canada Approves Clearfield Lentil

OTTAWA - Sep 1/04 - SNS -- Imidazolinone-Tolerant lentils developed by BASF have been approved for use in the Canadian food and livestock fed systems by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) Plant Biosafety Office and the Feed Section.

Based on information submitted by BASF Canada "regarding the imidazolinone tolerant lentil line RH44, which will be known commercially as CLEARFIELD™ lentil. The CFIA has determined that this plant with a novel trait does not present a significant risk to the environment, nor does it present livestock feed safety concerns when compared to currently commercialized lentil varieties in Canada," the government agency said.

Unconfined release into the environment and livestock feed use of line RH44, is therefore authorized as of June 24, 2004. Line RH44 and any other lentil lines derived from it may be imported and/or released, provided (i) no inter-specific crosses are performed, (ii) the intended use is similar, (iii) it is known following thorough characterization that these plants do not display any additional novel traits and are substantially equivalent to currently commercialized lentils, in terms of their potential environmental impact and livestock feed safety.

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