USDA approves purple GM tomatoes manufactured by UK-based company

On 7th September 2022, a Regulatory Status Review (RSR) stated that the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) “has determined that [Norfolk Plant Sciences’] modified tomato is unlikely to pose an increased plant pest risk relative to its comparator.”

Professor Cathie Martin developed the GM tomato. She and Professor Jonathan Jones founded UK’s first GM crop company, NPS (Norfolk Plant Sciences). It is a UK-based spinout company from John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory. The company aims to “commercialize their research into plants with enhanced health-giving compounds.”

Purple GM tomatoes were developed by a genetic “on switch” derived from Snapdragon, an edible flower. These Purple GM tomatoes are rich in anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are known to have tons of benefits, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.

Although these tomatoes are created in the UK, they will be available for purchase in the US markets only from Spring 2023.

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