Non-Browning Bananas Move Closer to Hitting Supermarket Shelves
The fruit uses gene editing to slow browning, and Tropic says tests showed it stayed fresh for up to eight days after slicing.
- The Environment Secretary has approved a marketing notice for a gene-edited banana developed by Tropic Biosciences, though the fruit must still pass Food Standards Agency checks before reaching consumers in England.
- Tropic Biosciences used CRISPR-Cas9 technology to alter three genes, preventing the plant from producing the PPO enzyme which causes browning when exposed to oxygen.
- Work with retailers shows the banana can retain freshness for up to eight days after slicing, addressing the 1.4 million edible bananas discarded annually in England.
- The fruit previously received regulatory approval in Brazil and Japan, and the firm estimates reducing food waste and CO2 emissions by over 25 per cent could support an annual reduction of over nine million tonnes of emissions.
- England introduced the Precision Breeding Act in 2023 to allow the sale of gene-edited crops, but no precision-bred organisms have yet been authorized for sale in England despite Defra officials highlighting potential sustainability benefits.
58 Articles
58 Articles
British researchers have developed a genetically engineered banana that does not turn brown for up to 24 hours when peeled or sliced.
Scientists in a British firm specializing in agricultural biotechnology have developed a genetically modified banana that can maintain its yellow color for up to 24 hours after peeling or cutting it.
Disclosure Open or cut bananas usually get darker quickly due to exposure to oxygen. A group of scientists, however, modified the fruit so that it maintains the color it presents when it has just opened. The British company of agricultural biotechnology Tropic developed this variety and states that it has the same flavor and texture, but, after open, it remains "fresh, yellow and appetizing for a long time after being peeled and cut into rollers…
In England, a banana that was changed with the gene shear Crispr/Cas could soon be launched, and the method could also help to make the fruit resistant to a deadly fungus.
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