Posted February 17, 2015
U.S.
regulators have approved two genetically engineered apple varieties designed to
resist browning, according to an Ag Professional article available here.
The Des Moines Register also published an article available here
and Reuters here.
The U.S.
Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) approved the new apples that were developed by the Canadian biotech
company Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc., as “unlikely to pose a plant pest risk
to agriculture.”
The apples, Arctic Granny and Arctic Golden, are identical
to their conventional counterparts except that they will not turn brown.
Neal
Carter, president and founder of Okanagan, said he is confident that apple
growers and consumers will accept the apples, according to The
Des Moines Register.
“It looks
like an apple, tastes like an apple and grows like an apple,” said Carter.
Critics “can say whatever they want but we got the evidence. It's an apple in
every way.”
The
Organic Consumers Association (OCA) petitioned the USDA to deny approval, and
said the genetic changes that prevent browning could be harmful to human
health, and pesticide levels on the apples could be excessive, according to Reuters.
The Food
and Drug Administration, which has no mandatory review process for genetically
engineered foods, is examining the new apples through a voluntary consultation
with Okanagan.
Okanagan
said its apples have undergone “rigorous review,” and are “likely the most
tested apples on the planet.”
For more information on biotechnology, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
