Modified ‘Arctic Apple’ stays white as snow
Laura Robin, Postmedia Network
First posted: Thursday, January 21, 2016 08:43 PM EST | Updated: Thursday, January 21, 2016 09:26 PM EST
Meet the Arctic Apple, a made-in-Canada fruit that has been genetically modified so that it — true to its name — stays snow-white when cut.
"We anticipate the Arctic Apple to have the fastest commercial ramp-up in the history of the apple business," says Neal Carter, a B.C. apple grower. It is the first genetically modified apple.
Carter got the idea more than a decade ago when he saw sales surging for ready-to-eat snack foods, such as baby-cut carrots.
"Apples just aren't convenient enough," says Carter. "You've got the core to throw out, and if they're cut, after a few seconds they start to turn brown."
After years of research, in which a Canadian biologist figured out a way to turn off the enzyme that makes apples turn brown, and then tests and approvals by U.S. and Canadian authorities, the Arctic Apple is about to take off.
Carter says it will probably be 2019 before an Arctic Apple comes to Ottawa.
But the U.S. Center for Food Safety argues that “masking” the browning could lead people to consume bad apples. Some have even taken to dubbing it “the Botox apple.”
After smashing these two apples together, Neal Carter cut open the bruised areas about 15 minutes later, revealing a darkened area on the regular apple (right) and no discolouration at all on the Arctic Apple (left). (Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen)
Modified ‘Arctic Apple’ stays white as snow | Eat | Life | Toronto Sun
Laura Robin, Postmedia Network
First posted: Thursday, January 21, 2016 08:43 PM EST | Updated: Thursday, January 21, 2016 09:26 PM EST
Meet the Arctic Apple, a made-in-Canada fruit that has been genetically modified so that it — true to its name — stays snow-white when cut.
"We anticipate the Arctic Apple to have the fastest commercial ramp-up in the history of the apple business," says Neal Carter, a B.C. apple grower. It is the first genetically modified apple.
Carter got the idea more than a decade ago when he saw sales surging for ready-to-eat snack foods, such as baby-cut carrots.
"Apples just aren't convenient enough," says Carter. "You've got the core to throw out, and if they're cut, after a few seconds they start to turn brown."
After years of research, in which a Canadian biologist figured out a way to turn off the enzyme that makes apples turn brown, and then tests and approvals by U.S. and Canadian authorities, the Arctic Apple is about to take off.
Carter says it will probably be 2019 before an Arctic Apple comes to Ottawa.
But the U.S. Center for Food Safety argues that “masking” the browning could lead people to consume bad apples. Some have even taken to dubbing it “the Botox apple.”
After smashing these two apples together, Neal Carter cut open the bruised areas about 15 minutes later, revealing a darkened area on the regular apple (right) and no discolouration at all on the Arctic Apple (left). (Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen)
Modified ‘Arctic Apple’ stays white as snow | Eat | Life | Toronto Sun
