The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved a new strain of pineapple that has been genetically engineered to have pink flesh instead of yellow fruit. The pineapples are set to be launched by Del Monte Fresh Produce and will be grown in Costa Rica.
The fruit has been genetically engineered to produce fewer enzymes that are naturally responsible for converting lycopene to beta carotene. The new strain won’t produce the yellow pigment and therefore antioxidant levels of beta carotene will be lower. The suppression of enzymes will leave the flesh of the fruit pink, as the genes retain the pink pigment lycopene instead of beta carotene. It will be labelled “extra sweet pink flesh pineapple.”
The FDA confirmed that Del Monte “submitted information to the agency to demonstrate that the pink flesh pineapple is as safe and nutritious as its conventional counterparts.”
GMO apples by Okanagan Specialty Fruits will be available soon. Golden Delicious apples will be test marketed at ten Midwest locations. The FDA has approved the company’s GMO Granny and Fuji varieties, and approval for the Gala is expected in 2018. The apples will have the label ‘Arctic’. When sliced they will not brown for three weeks.
