NORFOLK FIRM CREATES GENE-EDITED BANANA THAT RESISTS BROWNING

Tropic Biosciences, a company based in Norfolk, has developed a gene-edited banana designed not to turn brown, using a laboratory technique called CRISPR-Cas9 to alter three genes in the fruit. The editing stops the plant producing an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, which causes bananas and other fruits to brown once peeled and exposed to oxygen. According to the company, work with retailers and processors showed the banana stays fresh for up to eight days after being sliced. The Environment Secretary has approved a marketing notice for the banana, though it still needs to pass checks by the Food Standards Agency before reaching shelves. The banana was named one of TIME magazine's best inventions of 2025 when the breakthrough was first announced last year.

The banana was developed under England's Precision Breeding Act, introduced in 2023, which allows scientists and farmers to sell gene-edited fruit and vegetables provided the changes could have occurred through traditional farming or naturally. Tropic said its research into the sector found that browning accounts for around 20 per cent of banana yield losses, and for more than half of losses across other fruits susceptible to the same process. The company estimates its non-browning banana could cut food waste and CO2-equivalent emissions along the supply chain by more than 25 per cent. It says this could support a reduction in CO2 emissions of over nine million tonnes annually within the banana export market alone.

The banana has already received regulatory approval for import, sale and consumption in Brazil and Japan earlier this year, according to Tropic. UK approval would extend that regulatory clearance to a further major market, subject to the Food Standards Agency's assessment. No timeline has been given for when the fruit might appear in British supermarkets.