A small Summerland company is making big news across North America with the development of an apple that doesn’t turn brown after it is cut.
Okanagan Specialty Fruits is a privately owned biotech company which has been using “advanced molecular biology tools” to switch off the gene that controls the enzyme that turns the white flesh of apples brown after being exposed to the air.
Neal Carter, president of Okanagan Specialty Fruits, said their technique doesn’t introduce any foreign genes into the apple, instead using one of the apple’s own genes to make the changes. Five years of field testing culminated in an application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture this month for their stamp of approval on their Arctic-branded line of apples, which included genetically modified versions of Granny, Golden, Fuji and Gala apples.
While Carter cites benefits for the apple industry, reaction from the grower side has not been overwhelming, with concerns about how consumers will react to any type of genetic modification.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Penticton Western News (Penticton, B.C., Canada).
