The United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has opened a 60-day review period for members of the public to offer comment on two non-browning apple varieties, Arctic Golden and Arctic Granny.
The varieties, produced by Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF) using biotechnology, will undergo a newly enhanced review process for biotechnology plants and plant foods.
Neal Carter, founder and president of Canadian firm OSF, said: “We’re confident these public comment opportunities will reassure consumers and producers alike that Arctic Apples address browning in an innocuous way, so that we can move on to the work of getting more people eating more apples.”
Okanagan believes its apples, developed using gene silencing, are 'compositionally and nutritionally similar to conventional apples'.
The company submitted a petition for non-regulated status in May 2010 and is currently seeking US partners, including growers and processors, to commercialise Arctic apples.
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