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Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A New Banana Is Coming to Stores—and Scientists Claim It Doesn't Brown
A UK-based company has engineered a banana that doesn't brown and stays fresh for longer. This is when you can expect to see the banana in grocery stores, including those in the United States. There's nothing like the disappointment of coming home with a haul of fresh fruit, only to discover half of it has browned or rotten within a couple of days. Now, thanks to science, those days of tossing out fruit preemptively may soon be a thing of the past. A UK-based biotech company called Tropic has successfully engineered a banana that remains fresher for longer—12 hours after it's been peeled, to be exact. How is this possible? They used a gene editing technique called CRISPR to disable the enzyme responsible for making bananas turn brown. Similar to how apples and potatoes change colors once cut, the browning we see in bananas is due to oxidation, and is not a reliable indicator of a banana's ripeness. Gilad Gershon, co-founder of Tropic, told AgFunderNews, "The bananas have the same taste, smell, sweetness profile, the same everything, except that the flesh doesn't go brown as quickly, which means you can add them to fruit salads and cut fruit products, opening up a huge new market.' While genetically modified non-browning apples have been around for a decade, bananas present a unique challenge. Nearly all the bananas consumed in the United States belong to the Cavendish subgroup, which is seedless and can only reproduce through cloning. Yes, that means the bananas from today are essentially genetically identical to the ones from the 1960s. As a result, selecting genes for desirable traits is nearly impossible since all the bananas are virtually the same. This discovery not only opens up more possibilities for modifying bananas to improve disease resistance and extend shelf-life (which Tropic is already working on), but it may also make a huge impact in reducing food waste and lowering global greenhouse gas emissions. Nearly 33% of the world's harvested agriculture goes to waste—including almost 60% of banana biomass after harvesting. Tropic believes its non-browning bananas "have the potential to significantly reduce food waste and CO2 emissions along the supply chain by more than 25%," which the company suggests is "a reduction in CO2 emissions equivalent to removing 2 million passenger vehicles from the road each year." The new non-browning bananas have already been approved for commercial sale in the Philippines, Colombia, Honduras, the United States, and Canada, so we can expect to see them in stores before the end of the year. I know, I know—browned bananas are the secret workhorse of some of our favorite treats like banana bread, banana cream pie, and more. But now, we can have perfectly ripe bananas that aren't mushy and brown. This is more than a win for our kitchens, it's a win for our food systems and planet, too. Read the original article on ALLRECIPES
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A Banana That Won't Brown So Fast? Scientists Just Made It Happen
Scientists used CRISPR gene editing to create a banana that stays yellow longer, reducing food waste and extending shelf life. The biotech company Tropic says this innovation could cut carbon emissions significantly and prevent millions of bananas from being wasted. Approved for sale in multiple countries, including the United States and Canada, the banana is expected to hit store shelves by world can feel like a pretty bleak place right now. But you know what has the power to cheer you up? A delicious banana. And scientists have even developed one that stays fresher for longer, promising to stave off the dreaded "brown banana" period for a little longer. In March, Tropic Biosciences, a UK-based biotech company, unveiled its new gene-edited banana that promises to remain yellow for longer, not only ensuring you can enjoy it for a few extra days but also helping to reduce food waste in the process. "Tropic's non-browning bananas have the potential to significantly reduce food waste and CO2 emissions along the supply chain by more than 25%, as over 60% of exported bananas go to waste before reaching the consumer," the company shared in a statement about the banana. "This innovative product can support a reduction in CO2 emissions equivalent to removing 2 million passenger vehicles from the road each year." Related: Meet Yelloway One, Chiquita's New Disease-Resistant Banana According to Gilad Gershon, the co-founder of Tropic, the team used CRISPR gene editing techniques to disable a gene that creates the enzyme polyphenol oxidase, which causes bananas to turn brown. 'After several years of development, we started production of [non-browning] seedlings about a year ago, and we're now starting to offer significant quantities of these banana plants to farmers," Gershon shared with AgFunderNews. 'The bananas have the same taste, smell, sweetness profile, the same everything, except that the flesh doesn't go brown as quickly, which means you can add them to fruit salads and cut fruit products, opening up a huge new market.' Importantly, Gershon noted that this will help companies buy at "least 10 extra days, which is huge for the banana industry." The company more specifically told The Guardian that the banana will stay yellow for up to 12 hours after it's peeled. Gershon additionally told AgFunderNews that the banana has been approved for sale in several countries, including the U.S. and Canada, and should be ready to roll out to store shelves sometime in 2025. Related: How to Cook Anything in a Banana Leaf While it may seem like a trivial scientific endeavor, it really is one with far-reaching positive consequences. According to a 2021 study in Horticulture Research, nearly one-third of bananas harvested are never consumed. That aligns with data that shows about one-third of the food the world produces also goes to waste. Or, as the World Resources Institute bluntly put it, "It means that an amount of land larger than China is used every year to produce food that no one will eat." But this new banana could be a major step toward improving these metrics. While it all sounds very futuristic, The Guardian pointed out that it's not the first fruit to get this treatment. The same gene was also edited out of Arctic apples, which have been sold in the U.S. since 2017. And just in case you're nervous about all the science put into this little fruit, know the Food and Drug Administration has this to say about genetically modified food: "GMO foods are carefully studied before they are sold to the public to ensure they are as safe as the foods we currently eat ... studies show that GMOs do not affect you differently than non-GMO foods." So go ahead, and enjoy that bright yellow banana. Read the original article on Food & Wine
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Louisiana students tackle massive issue with Super Bowl aftermath: 'The people of New Orleans are no strangers to the impact'
A student-powered nonprofit saved tons of food from the Super Bowl trash heap this weekend in New Orleans, reported AgFunderNews. The Food Recovery Network works with Tulane University and Louisiana State University students to collect surplus food from major game-day events and redirect it to people who need it most. This marks the fifth year of the Food Recovery Network's Big Game program, which recovers excess food from The Players Tailgate, a premier Super Bowl event. For 2025, Guy Fieri's Flavortown Tailgate joined the initiative, with Hellmann's Mayonnaise supporting for the second year. "We're so excited to be here," FRN executive director Regina Harmon said in an Instagram video filmed from the Tailgate. The need for food recovery hits close to home in New Orleans, where a recent winter storm underscored broader environmental challenges. "The people of New Orleans are no strangers to the impact of climate disasters on their community, and limiting food waste is one of many ways we can all work together to reduce carbon emissions and create a more climate-resilient world," Harmon told AgFunderNews. "And in a city where 62,000 New Orleanians are facing food insecurity, our recovery efforts can help to tackle two crises at once." Each Super Bowl generates over 140,000 pounds of surplus food waste, about 40 times heavier than a Ford Taurus. "Our large-scale events allow us to recover truckloads of food at a time," said Harmon. The organization started in 2011 and now works with over 8,000 students across 200-plus U.S. schools. Its latest focus targets community colleges through special grants since research shows two-year schools often serve areas with limited food access. One school in the first group of grant recipients has already saved 50,000 pounds of food. The success prompted FRN to think bigger: The group aims to grow from helping 4,000 people to 40,000 by 2030. Which of these groups has the biggest role to play in reducing food waste? Grocery stores Restaurants Individuals The government Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "We work really closely with the communities there, because for us it is about dignity and respect and listening to the community," Harmon says. "We're not here to tell them, 'Oh, this is what you need. You need a new FRN chapter.' We work really closely with the communities, let them know what our offerings are, and from there, they tell us what their needs are." Last year in Las Vegas, FRN students recovered nearly 4,000 pounds of food, enough for 3,328 meals. With two major events participating this year in New Orleans, they're making an even bigger impact. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
