EINNEWS, December 2—-An apple that doesn’t turn brown after slicing?
It can be created genetically, according to British Columbia biotech company Okanagan Specialty Foods, which has asked the U.S Department of Agriculture for a permit to market the product in the U.S.
The company says that its process was developed by Australian researchers for potatoes. The technology “silences” the gene that produces the enzyme polyphenol oxidase, which is associated with the decaying effect that quickly turns sliced products brown.
In contrast to “transgenics,” a type of genetic modification that introduces foreign genes into a plant commonly used in modern day crop breeding, the process proposed by Okanagan Specialty Foods allows scientists to alter an existing apple gene without introducing new genes into the plant.
The company says its researchers have field tested the process for five years and has succeeded in raising non-browning Galas, Fujis, Goldens and Grannys.
To keep apples from turning color, the food service industry rinses sliced apples in solutions of water and vitamin C or lemon juice or other antioxidant solutions in order to maintain freshness and avoid browning.
Opponents of the engineered process say a non-browning apple may deceive consumers into thinking it is fresh when it is not. Others fear the risk of cross-pollination between genetically modified apples and conventional apples if planted within a close proximity.
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