2013-05-07 | permalink

Del Monte gets OK to import GE pineapples into the U.S.

An international fruit company has won approval from the USDA to ship genetically engineered pineapple into the U.S. The Del Monte Fresh Produce Co., based in the Cayman Islands, has developed a transgenic pineapple that has tissue of a “novel rose color.” The company has altered the fruit to “overexpress” a gene derived from the tangerine and to suppress other genes, increasing accumulation of lycopene [...] The plant’s flowering cycle has also been changed to provide for more uniform growth and quality. [...] the company is still seeking approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which also regulates transgenic food, and the government of Costa Rica, where the crop is grown. When Del Monte received permission to expand test plots of the crop in Costa Rica in 2011, the decision alarmed some environmentalists in the country.

• Capital Press, USA: Del Monte gets OK to import biotech pineapple
• The Packer, USA: Del Monte testing genetically modified pineapple