Is it true that Europe has banned canola oil since 1991?
No. The European Union (EU) countries together produce more canola than Canada. Europeans call their canola "oilseed rape" - and call the oil "rape oil" or "rapeseed oil" - but it is canola. They chose not to adopt the new name "canola" when it was developed. So Europeans consume canola oil every day - and have ever since canola was introduced in Europe shortly after being developed in Canada.
The difference is that European farmers are prevented by law from growing genetically modified canola (or any GM crop). Europeans therefore consume canola oil from non-GM plants. Most of the canola oil from Canada can be exported to the EU and the EU has also approved some of the GM canola seed for processing.
Canola oil produced from GM plants is safe and healthy. And canola oil itself does not contain any GM ingredients. The GM modification is made to one canola gene and it is a protein. All proteins are removed from canola oil during processing so canola oil made from GM plants is no different from conventional canola oil.
http://www.canolacouncil.org/oil-and-meal/canola-oil/canola-the-myths-debunked#Cyanide
