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Norfolk-Made Banana that Stays Yellow for Longer Could Soon Hit 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.
- To slow the browning process, Tropic Biosciences used CRISPR-Cas9 technology to alter three genes, preventing the plant from producing the PPO enzyme that causes browning when exposed to oxygen.
- Work with retailers shows the banana can retain freshness for up to eight days after slicing, while Tropic Biosciences estimates around 1.4 million edible bananas are discarded annually in the UK.
- The fruit previously received regulatory approval in Brazil and Japan earlier this year, 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.
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22 Articles
22 Articles
The agricultural biotechnology company Tropic has succeeded in modifying the DNA of bananas. The result: a banana that turns brown less quickly. This helps to significantly reduce food waste and environmentally harmful emissions. This has been made possible by the use of the innovative CRISPR-Cas technology.
·Amsterdam, Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
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Brown bananas are thrown away too quickly. Genetically modified bananas are an innovation that could reduce waste.
·Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Researchers in the UK hope to increase lifespan – and reduce wasting.
·Gothenburg, Sweden
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The IndependentReposted by 
The Independent (US)
The Independent (US)Bananas that don’t go brown could hit UK supermarkets after scientific breakthrough
Company hopes gene-editing technique will reduce food waste
·London, United Kingdom
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Total News Sources22
Leaning Left3Leaning Right5Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution47% Center
Bias Distribution
- 47% of the sources are Center
47% Center
L 20%
C 47%
R 33%
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