A Canadian company is trying to bring a genetically modified apple to the U.S. market.
Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc.’s Arctic apple has been modified so that an enzyme responsible for turning the fruit brown is turned off.
Neil Carter, the company’s president, thinks the Arctic apple could help reverse declining consumption rates in North America.
“They haven’t competed terribly well with other snack foods or ready-to- eat foods,” he said.
He said an apple that doesn’t brown will be easier to sell as a fresh cut food, and genetic modification is a cheaper method to accomplish this result.
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Carter cited the success of the baby carrot, made by cutting and tumbling regular carrots.
He said that U. S carrot consumption doubled in the seven years after baby carrots hit the market.
Carter doesn’t expect the Arctic apple to have the same impact.
“Even if we could see an extra kilo or half kilo consumed in Canada per person, and a pound or two in the U.S., it would be unbelievable the impact it could have on the apple market,” he said.
With browning removing nutrients from apples, he said the Arctic apple may be healthier than traditional varieties.
While he hopes his product will sell, Carter knows he will have to fight those opposed to anti-GM food, but he is undeterred.
“We don’t need everyone to like it. We’re not trying to take over the world apple market,” said Carter, who would like the Arctic apple to acquire as much as two percent market share within 10 years of its launch.
But before that can happen, it is going to take a few years for the variety to navigate regulatory processes in the United States and Canada, which Carter acknowledges “is not an easy undertaking, especially for a small company that has limited resources.”
It will likely be four or five years before Arctic apples hit grocery stores.
