Canadian flax growers have to make sure all seed going into the ground in 2010 is Triffid-free. “It’s imperative that we clean up our seed supply,” said Quinton Stewart at the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission’s meeting at Crop Week in Saskatoon on Monday.

Barry Hall, president of the Flax Council of Canada, says the Triffid discovery has “absolutely trashed” Canada’s reputation as a supplier of high-quality flaxseed. -- Jay Whetter photo

Stewart, flax merchant for Viterra, says the recommendation is that all seed be tested, and farmers will have to show certification that their seed was tested before they can deliver any flax. There is also the recommendation that all seed be certified.

But that alone isn’t enough. Certified seed needs to be tested, too.

Two Crop Development Centre (CDC) varieties -- Mons and Normandy -- do have positive results for the gene. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, which also has a flax breeding program, will also test its breeder seed.

So now you know the action plan for 2010. But we’ve still got 2009 production to deal with.

As of Dec. 1, 2009, all producers are required to have their on-farm stocks sampled. Stewart says only about one fifth of the flax has been tested so far, and three to five per cent is coming in with Triffid levels above 0.01 per cent. That’s one Triffid-gened seed per 10,000 seeds. But Europe has zero tolerance for Triffid, so any truckload or rail car or ship’s hold that comes back positive for Triffid has to go to another market. Perhaps it will be crushed in Canada. China is also buying.

Stewart assures growers who do have a positive test that the industry will find a market for their flax.

The only holdup is that Canada had a very good flax production year in 2009, with 1.709 million tonnes, noted market analyst Larry Weber. Carryout could reach 550,000 tonnes, or more, which is huge. Triffid compounds the problem.

Discovery of genetically-modified Triffid flax in flax shipments to Europe has cost Canada’s flax industry, including growers of course, tens of millions of dollars, says Barry Hall, president of the Flax Council of Canada. And European flax crushers and millers, who have no other source to turn to, have also lost millions.

“Canada’s reputation as a supplier of high-quality flaxseed has been absolutely trashed,” Hall says.

If you have more question about the Triffid situation, the Flax Council is hosting a conference call Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. and again Feb. 2 at the same time. Call 1-800-610-9767 to participate. Call five to 10 minutes before 1 p.m. and tell the operator you wish to participate in the “Flax Industry Update Call.”

Speakers on the call will be from the Flax Council as well as GM testing labs, Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Viterra. You will have a chance to ask questions to the speakers.

Where did Triffid come from?

CDC Triffid was recommended for registration under the name FP967 in 1995. Value Added Seeds registered the variety and started multiplying seed for a planned launch in 1998.

In the meantime, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) had declared it safe for feed (1996) and food (1998). But in the winter of 1997-98, the EU blocked genetically-modified canola. The flax industry realized the same could happen to them, with much worse consequences.

Europe represented and still represents 60 to 70 per cent of the Canadian flax market. The industry had no legal grounds to stop production of CDC Triffid, so relied on “moral suasion” of seed growers to bring the seed back, Hall says. Value Added Seeds agreed to comply. In 2001, Triffid was deregistered.

We didn’t hear anything about Triffid again until spring and summer 2009 with reports that genetically modified flax was found in multi-grain bread in Germany. This was traced to Canadian flax, and further tests revealed presence of the Triffid GM gene.

-- Jay Whetter is the editor of Grainews.