A new brand of apple keeps the brown away

Summerland, B.C. – An innovation from a B.C.-based agriculture biotechnology company may be a welcome solution to those who love apples or want their kids to love them.

Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF) says it has developed the non-browning apple, and is, as The Canadian Press reports, in the process of asking regulators in Canada and the U.S. to approve it.

OSF explains that once an apple is sliced and set aside for a few moments the flesh tends to turn brown.

This browning is seen in most fruits and vegetables and is very active in most tree fruits.

By using its patented Polyphenol Oxidase (PPQ) technology, OSF has been able to “silence” the browning reaction to deliver a fruit that will not turn brown when cut or bruised.

Not only that, but OSF says it has found through third-party research that antioxidants and vitamin C are preserved with the apple’s colour when the protein driving the browning reaction is turned off, reports The Canadian Press.

The company is marketing the fruit under the brand Arctic. The Vancouver Sun reports that the OSF has Arctic Golden Delicious and Arctic Granny Smith and is working on Arctic Galas and Arctic Fujis.

The company also says that several groups, from consumers to producers, packers, retailers, restaurateurs, fresh-cut apple processors and traditional processors will find there are benefits to the non-browning apple. Though most media stories report that there is a contingent of GMO critics voicing their concerns.

OSF says the non-browning apple has been in the works for more than a decade. The Canadian Press reports that the technology was licensed from Australian researchers who pioneered it in potatoes.

If all goes well, the Arctic brand apples could be in stores by 2015.