Research authorizations under the Fertilizers Act and regulations: Before you apply

When do you need to apply

Applicants must submit their application packages at least 90 days before the trial start date. 90 days is the time required to process an application and doesn't include industry response time.

If the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) receives submissions less than 90 days before the trial start date, there is no guarantee that the review of the information will be done in time for the planting season.

Note

Where authorization is required, research trials can't begin before receiving the research authorization. The trials must be conducted in accordance with the conditions outlined in the research authorization.

Determine your category of research authorization

The CFIA will confirm the research authorization category during the application review process.

Category A: Standard research application for new research (RN)

Description of Category A:

  • testing of novel supplement or fertilizer containing a novel supplement that pose negligible risk to:
    • plant, animal, and human health
    • the environment
  • may include either:

Category B: Research application for new research plus a safety review (RS)

Description of Category B:

  • testing of novel supplement or fertilizer containing a novel supplement that either:
    • have not been previously assessed by the CFIA
    • are genetically modified
    • represent a potential or unknown risk to human, animal, and plant health or the environment
  • may include level 2 and 3 safety assessment as indicated in the guide to submitting applications for registration
  • if deemed necessary, the CFIA may impose specific conditions to mitigate the risk, or refuse to authorize the trial

Category C: Renewal of a research authorization (RE)

Description of Category C:

  • reserved for renewals of a past research authorization
  • includes monitoring a test site without re-application of:
    • the product
    • subsequent years of testing of the same product on the same crop or crop group
  • applicants may ask to add additional sites
  • applicants need a new Category C authorization for each additional calendar year in which testing takes place
  • an applicant must include a statement that:
    • indicates that all parameters of the trial are unchanged from the previous authorization
    • is signed by the responsible researcher or the applicant

Get your information ready

Documentation required for all research trials – RN, RS, and RE (Categories A, B and C)

  • Completed application for research authorization form
  • Experimental-use label
  • Trial maps
    • applicants may provide general test locations with the application form
    • applicants must submit the exact maps no later than 21 days after trial establishment

Additional documentation required for RN, and RS (Categories A and B)

  • Description of the trial design and treatment regime
  • Identification and description of constituent materials
  • Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for individual ingredients and the final product
  • Information about microbial inocula (if applicable)
  • Description of manufacturing process and quality control procedures
  • Proposed method(s) of crop and product disposal (unless the CFIA grants a crop destruct waiver)

Additional information

For more guidance in preparing complete and well-structured safety rationales, refer to Tab 5: Safety rationale and supplemental data.

For full explanations of the required documentation, refer to T-4-103 – Conducting research under the Fertilizers Act.

Additional documentation required for RS (Category B)

  • Safety rationale
    • microbial hazard characterization
    • exposure characterization
    • microbial characterization
    • information about microorganisms modified by molecular biological techniques (if applicable)
  • Monitoring plan and procedure
  • Confinement procedures
  • Contingency plan

Trials conducted at multiple sites

Applicants may report trials conducted at multiple sites under the same research authorization if the following items are the same:

  • the product
  • the trial method
  • the crop species or crop group

Definition

Crop groupings: classification of crops in agriculture and horticulture vary significantly depending on the criteria used (taxonomy, plant morphology, economical/ commercial uses and agro-botanical characteristics).

If applicants wish to report multiple trials conducted on crops from the same crop group under 1 application, applicants must submit a scientifically valid rationale that:

  • demonstrates crop similarity to and approved by the CFIA
  • includes taxonomic or otherwise physiologically relevant evidence
    • the evidence must indicate that the crop species within the group will respond to the novel supplement or a fertilizer containing a novel supplement under test in a similar manner

Note

Getting a research authorization for a crop group doesn't guarantee that the CFIA will register the supplement for that crop group. Applicants may need to submit safety data for each crop species individually.

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