6 GERMINATION.CA SEPTEMBER 2018 Vistive Gold. Kerr says “their oleic acid profile composition is quite similar to HO oils from canola and other HO oil- seeds, yet HO soybean oils offer improved flavour stability and the potential for lower price.” He notes that it’s taken about 20 years to commercial- ize HO soybeans due to both long regulatory timelines for GM soybeans and the need for the U.S. food industry to urgently address the government order to stop using hydro- genated oils. “This led to substantial efforts to reformulate oils through blending of oils to achieve higher stability and suitability for use in food manufacturing,” Kerr says. In comparison, Kerr says HO canola achieved regula- tory approval much earlier due in part to the comparative ease of making genetic enhancements, and also because it didn’t face the anti-GMO consumer acceptance environ- ment that HO soybeans (made through transgenic biotech methods) have faced. As to when or whether Vistive Gold will be available in Canada, Monsanto says it will decide on that once it achieves regulatory approval in China. Canadian com- mercialization would require an interested crushing plant, says the firm’s Canadian public and industry affairs director, Trish Jordan. She adds that Eastern Canada might potentially offer a unique opportunity for Vistive Gold because many growers already produce identity-preserved (segregated) soybeans there. Dupont Pioneer says it will continue to evaluate market opportunities for its Plenish HO soybean varieties and hopes to introduce them in Canada at some point. Product manager Brian Buckallew says downstream demand for these varieties continues to increase, pending processor contracting opportunities and product performance. Up with Omega The canola industry also has a current breeding focus on producing varieties with increased omega 3 and EPA/ DHA fatty acids, “as a plant-based system,” notes Rempel, “to preserve global fish stocks.” These fatty acids are important for circulatory and brain health, and can be found in salmon, mackerel and other oily fish, as well as in flax, hemp and other oilseed crops. Cargill and BASF Plant Science are currently co- developing canola varieties in this vein. Debonte reports that “as the public becomes more aware of the heart health benefits of EPA and DHA omega-3s, signif- icant growth in demand is forecast. This next genera- tion of canola oil will allow food and feed companies to affordably offer [these fatty acids] in a wide variety of products.” Nuseed (of parent company Nufarm) has also devel- oped a DHA-rich omega-3 canola variety using genes from microalgae, and has submitted applications for its regulatory approval in Canada, the U.S. and Australia (the company also offers HO canola.) “One hectare of our omega-3 canola has the poten- tial to provide the same amount of omega-3 oil as would be extracted from 10,000 kg of fish,” says Nuseed global general manager innovation & strategy, Andy Thomas. “It will help in meeting the growing global demand for increased omega-3 consumption.” However, while Dzisiak acknowledges that there is some interest in higher omega fatty acid canola oil for both human health markets and as an ingredient in fish food, he points out that these traits (as well as extra- low saturated fat content) are niche ‘small-acre’ traits, currently amounting to only hundreds of thousands of acres in North America. High omega-3 canola, he notes, also has to be grown separately from commodity canola, which involves strict production practices. Dzisiak predicts that in commodity canola, higher protein meal is the next big thing in terms of breeding activity and acreage growth. Canola meal is already fed to dairy cattle, he says, and there are opportunities to expand its use as a feed ingredient. In the wake of trans fats and hydrogenated oils being phased out in the global food industry, the creation of high oleic canola oil, with its low saturated fat content and some Omega fatty acids, was very timely.