Bananas That Don't Go Brown To Hit Supermarkets Thanks to DNA Editing (theguardian.com)
(Monday September 28, 2026 @11:30PM (BeauHD)
from the no-more-banana-bread dept.)
- Reference: 0185891858
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/09/28/210256/bananas-that-dont-go-brown-to-hit-supermarkets-thanks-to-dna-editing
- Source link: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/sep/28/gene-edited-non-browning-banana-britain-shops
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian:
> It is the bane of every fruit bowl: sliced banana that turns brown before it has reached the table. But such woes could soon be a thing of the past, with gene-edited bananas that keep their freshly peeled color now one step closer to reaching British shoppers. According to Tropic, the Norwich-based agricultural-biotechnology company that developed the fruit, the bananas have the same taste and texture but [1]stay "fresh, yellow and appetizing long after peeling and slicing ."
>
> Gilad Gershon, the chief executive of Tropic, said the flesh of the new banana resisted browning for an extra day or two -- and longer if chilled. He added that the innovation could make it easier to add bananas to prepackaged products such as fruit salads and breakfast pots, as well as reducing waste. [...] Tropic developed the bananas 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.
>
> Tropic [2]said the non-browning bananas could reduce food waste and CO2-equivalent emissions along the supply chain by more than 25%. "This could support an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of over 9m tonnes in the banana export market alone," the company said. [...] Gershon said Tropic had gained regulatory approval for the non-browning bananas in 10 other countries including Japan, Brazil and the Philippines. The fruit is already being grown in Latin America.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/sep/28/gene-edited-non-browning-banana-britain-shops
[2] https://tropic.bio/banana/
> It is the bane of every fruit bowl: sliced banana that turns brown before it has reached the table. But such woes could soon be a thing of the past, with gene-edited bananas that keep their freshly peeled color now one step closer to reaching British shoppers. According to Tropic, the Norwich-based agricultural-biotechnology company that developed the fruit, the bananas have the same taste and texture but [1]stay "fresh, yellow and appetizing long after peeling and slicing ."
>
> Gilad Gershon, the chief executive of Tropic, said the flesh of the new banana resisted browning for an extra day or two -- and longer if chilled. He added that the innovation could make it easier to add bananas to prepackaged products such as fruit salads and breakfast pots, as well as reducing waste. [...] Tropic developed the bananas 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.
>
> Tropic [2]said the non-browning bananas could reduce food waste and CO2-equivalent emissions along the supply chain by more than 25%. "This could support an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of over 9m tonnes in the banana export market alone," the company said. [...] Gershon said Tropic had gained regulatory approval for the non-browning bananas in 10 other countries including Japan, Brazil and the Philippines. The fruit is already being grown in Latin America.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/sep/28/gene-edited-non-browning-banana-britain-shops
[2] https://tropic.bio/banana/
Fresh food is so last year. (Score:2)
by Flownez ( 589611 )
This feels wrong to me. A brown banana on my kitchen bench is an excuse to make banana bread.
Re: (Score:2)
by Adrian Harvey ( 6578 )
I don't think they are talking about the browning of the skin as it ripens, they seem to be talking about the browning of the cut surface of the inside like when making a fruit salad. Generally I find lemon juice on the surface prevents browning for long enough to keep the dish looking good.
I'd rather this didn't come to market - I don't trust that editing genes will only have the intended effect, nor that we won't lose somthing vital by not having the banana produce polyphenol oxidase.
How about fruit (Score:3)
That doesn't taste like wood.
Seriously it's a huge pain in the ass buying fruit now because so much of it tastes like garbage. Over farming means there aren't enough nutrients in the soil and they grow the fruit to be too large so the tree cannot get the flavor components to the fruit.
Grapes especially are a total crapshoot. And oranges are just a waste of money now. They're just balls of cellulose.
I mean I think it's kind of hard to fuck up a banana but if anyone can do it it's large grocery store chains...