Nuseed, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nufarm Ltd, has completed preparation for regulatory approvals of its innovative long-chain omega-3 canola. Australian filings have been submitted, with United States and Canadian submissions anticipated to be filed this month. Pending regulatory approvals, commercialization is expected to commence in 2018 or 2019.
“Reaching these regulatory milestones in all three countries gives us both timing and location options as we commercialize canola based long-chain omega-3,” says Brent Zacharias, Nuseed Group Executive.
Nuseed’s proprietary canola will provide long-chain omega-3 oils, similar to those found in fish oil, using a sustainable land-based source. It has been developed through collaboration between Nuseed, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).
“These submissions reflect our confidence in and commitment to the science, safety and global potential of our omega-3 program,” says Zacharias.
The regulatory submissions are being made to the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) and Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) in Australia; to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada in Canada; and to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA.
The company also announced commercial brands for the resulting oil product, specific to key end-use markets; AquaterraTM for aquaculture feed uses, and NutriterraTM for human nutrition application.
The unique profile of the Nuseed oil ensures that it will easily fit with current market practices and meet the needs of multiple end-market applications on a commercially viable basis. It is anticipated that one hectare of this canola has the potential to provide the omega-3 yield from 10,000 kilograms of fish.
The crop will be produced under a closed-loop grain handling and oil processing system. In 2017 Nuseed intends to grow up to 4,000 acres of omega-3 canola in the US for pre-commercial production under the stewardship of the USDA notification process.
