According to the Food<\/a> Standards Agency (FSA), precision-bred status is given only if the genetic changes made could have been achieved through traditional breeding methods.<\/p>\n This is different from genetic modification<\/a> because precision-bred organisms do not contain DNA from unrelated species.<\/p>\n Prof Cathie Martin, a project leader at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, who has worked on gene-edited tomatoes<\/a>, said the next stage for all crops that had received marketing approval \u2013 including the new bananas \u2013 was a review by the FSA to ensure the safety of the products. \u201cIt is not entirely clear how long this will take,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Tropic developed the bananas <\/a>by using a gene-editing technology called Crispr-Cas9 to alter all three copies of a single gene within the fruit. As a result, they were able to reduce the production of polyphenol oxidase, an enzyme that causes browning. A similar approach has been effective in reducing browning in other produce, including mushrooms<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tropic said the non-browning bananas<\/a> could reduce food waste and CO2-equivalent emissions along the supply chain by more than 25%. \u201cThis could support an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of over 9m tonnes in the banana export market alone,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n A government study<\/a> found that 1.4m edible bananas were thrown away each day. A third of consumers (30%) said they had discarded a banana owing to a minor bruise or black mark on the skin.<\/p>\n Gene editing has been used by researchers to develop sweeter-tasting strawberries<\/a>, disease-resistant crops and tomatoes that are more compact or high in vitamin D<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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