美国批准转基因防褐变苹果上市

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据国外媒体2月5日报道，喜欢吃水果色拉的人听到下面这则消息一定会很高兴：澳大利亚科学家利用转基因技术培育出一种具有抗氧化性能的苹果。以前的苹果被切开后很快就会变成棕褐色，很不美观，令人食欲大减，但有了这种转基因苹果后，苹果切开后果肉褐变的现象将一去不复返。

这种苹果目前正在美国试验田里试种，正在接受美国农业部的批准，现在它也开始公开接受公众评价。这种苹果有望获批。

苹果变色，与被称之为“酶促褐变”的过程有关。当苹果的果肉接触到氧气时，氧气与多酚氧化酶发生化学反应，就会导致果肉变成棕褐色。防止这种水果变色的诀窍包括：采用柠檬原汁，或者是大型食品服务公司采用的一种名叫抗坏血酸钙的化学抗氧化剂。正是这种物质使麦当劳餐厅等很多地方都能出售切片苹果。

但是澳大利亚研究人员通过让苹果自身产生抗氧化性，从而排除了使用这些价格高昂的化学物质的必要。他们把产酶基因的复制版植入苹果的基因组里，结果发现它竟导致整个产酶过程被关闭。没有氧化酶，就意味着苹果不会变成棕褐色。现在加拿大一家公司已经获得许可，可以生产这种抗褐变的“北极”苹果(之所以叫这个名字，是因为它始终都是白色的，不会变色)的两个品种：金冠和澳洲青苹果。

美国农业部进行的初步研究确定这种北极苹果与它们的传统版本一样安全，而且也已批准Okanagan Specialty Fruits公司在纽约和华盛顿的试验田种植这种苹果。美国农业部的正式批准工作还在进行中，有关解除北极苹果管制的建议，正在公开接受公众意见，这项活动将会一直持续到1月30日。

目前公众正在对它作出肯定评价。一些人反对转基因成为一种概念，而且不希望改变田地里或者是食品供应中的苹果。其他人则表示，不会褐变的苹果将会促使更多小孩子吃这种对健康有益的水果。如果北极苹果获批(很有可能会在未来几个月发生)，它仍需要几年时间才能最终进入食品店。(原标题《转基因防褐变苹果有望在美国上市》)


By ANDREW POLLACKFEB. 13, 2015

After eight hours, Arctic Granny apples, right, do not brown like unmodified Granny apples. Credit Okanagan Specialty Fruits

The government on Friday approved the commercial planting of genetically engineered apples that are resistant to turning brown when sliced or bruised.

The developer, Okanagan Specialty Fruits, says it believes the nonbrowning feature will be popular with both consumers and food service companies because it will make sliced apples more appealing. The feature could also reduce the number of apples discarded because of bruising.

But many executives in the apple industry say they worry that the biotech apples, while safe to eat, will face opposition from some consumers, possibly tainting the wholesome image of the fruit that reputedly “keeps the doctor away.” They are also concerned that it could hurt exports of apples to countries that do not like genetically modified foods.

“In the marketplace we participate in, there doesn’t seem to be room for genetically modified apples now,” said John Rice, co-owner of Rice Fruit Company in Gardners, Pa., which bills itself as the largest apple packer in the East.

The Department of Agriculture, which approved the apples for commercial planting, said on Friday that it had considered these issues. However, it said that under the law, approval is based on whether a genetically modified crop poses a threat to other plants. The department determined that the apples posed no such risk.

The so-called Arctic apples — which will be available in the Granny Smith and Golden Delicious varieties — are genetically engineered in a way to suppress the production of an enzyme that causes browning when cells in the apple are injured, from slicing, for example.

But over time the apples will still rot and turn brown. In November, the Agriculture Department approved a genetically engineered potato developed by the J.R. Simplot Company that uses a similar technique to prevent browning.

The apple will join relatively few other examples of genetically modified fresh produce, including papaya and some sweet corn. Most of the genetically modified food Americans eat is processed, containing ingredients made from engineered corn or soybeans.

The engineered trait is also one of the few meant to appeal to consumers; most of the traits so far, like insect resistance and herbicide resistance, have been aimed at helping farmers.

The approval is also unusual in that Okanagan, which is based in Summerland, British Columbia, is a small company. Most genetically modified crops are developed by giant seed and chemical companies like Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer.

Neal Carter, president of Okanagan Specialty Fruits. Credit Okanagan Specialty Fruits

Neal Carter, the president of Okanagan, said the apple had “a lot of silent supporters” and would be popular with the food service business. “I can’t believe how many requests we’ve had just this morning to our website from people who want to buy trees,” he said. The roughly 45 investors in the privately held company include many people in the apple business, he said.

It will take a few years for Arctic apples to be widely available because trees have to first be planted and then become mature enough to bear fruit.

Mr. Carter said that four growers would plant a total of 20,000 trees this spring, covering a mere 20 acres or so. From 5,000 to 10,000 pounds of apples are expected to be ready by the fall of 2016, enough to provide samples to food service companies and other potential buyers. The product could reach stores, in very small quantities, in 2017, he said.

Documents released by the Agriculture Department on Friday suggest the decision to approve was essentially made last May. Mr. Carter said he thought political factors had kept the approval from being announced. He said the company, which had initially requested approval in 2010, finally became so frustrated that it wrote a pointed letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack last month.

A spokesman for the Agriculture Department said it took time to analyze the issues and all the comments received. There were two public comment periods that together drew more than 175,000 comments, the overwhelming majority opposed to approval.

Consumer and environmental groups, who say that genetically modified crops in general are not thoroughly tested for safety, were highly critical of the decision on Friday.

“This G.M.O. apple is simply unnecessary,” Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, said in a statement, using the initials for “genetically modified organism.” “Apple browning is a small cosmetic issue that consumers and the industry have dealt with successfully for generations.”

(Putting lemon juice or another source of vitamin C on apple slices can retard browning, though Okanagan argues that affects the taste.)

The environmental groups have been pressing food companies to reject the Arctic apples. McDonald’s and Gerber have sent letters saying they had no plans to use the apples. The groups also renewed their call for genetically modified foods to be labeled as such.

Mr. Carter said apples would be labeled as Arctic, with links to the company’s website, so consumers could figure out that the fruit was engineered. He said it would discuss with the Food and Drug Administration whether the apples would also be labeled as nonbrowning. But he said that labeling the fruit as genetically modified would only be “demonizing” it.

The nonbrowning effect is not created by putting genes from another species into the apple’s DNA, which is the case with most genetically altered crops. Instead, the apple’s own genes are manipulated in a way that turns off the browning mechanism.

Okanagan is still engaged in a voluntary consultation with the F.D.A. over the safety of the apple. Consumer groups say shutting off the browning mechanism could have unintended effects. But the Agriculture Department said the Arctic apples seemed to be nutritionally equivalent to other apples.

While many in the apple industry had opposed the approval, some now say they will work to ensure that consumers know most apples are not modified and even the ones that are modified are safe.

novice_trader

至少美国医药行业会很高兴, 药物的需求会很高了。都是赚钱的产物链。