From Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia.
The Flavor Saver®
tomato was the first
commercially grown
genetically engineered food to
be granted a licence for human
consumption. It was produced by
Calgene Inc. of Davis,
California and submitted to the
U.S.
Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) in
1992. It was first sold in
1994. FlavrSavr tomatoes were
only available for a few years
before production ceased. Calgene
made history but went bust due to
mounting costs.
The modified tomato was more
resistant to
rotting and the taste was
unchanged. The amount of
vitamins,
protein, and
mineral substances in the
FlavrSavr tomatoes also remained
the same as traditional varieties.
Unmodified tomatoes are picked
before fully ripened. The
antisense
gene in FlavrSavr tomatoes
means they can be allowed to
ripen on the
vine without the risk of
rotting when they are transported
to shops. The reason the tomatoes
are resistant to rotting is
because a gene that interferes
with production of enzyme
polygalacturonase is added.
Polygalacturonase is responsible
for cell walls softening during
the fruit ripening.
The FDA stated that special
labeling for these modified
tomatoes was not necessary because
they have the essential
characteristics of non-modified
tomatoes.
