Summerland's Arctic Apple Granted Approval in the U.S.

Summerland’s non-browning Arctic Apple has been granted approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Healthy Inspection Service (APHIS).

Photo Credit: Arctic Apple

Friday morning the department announced its decision to deregulate the first two non-browning apple varieties, Arctic Golden and Arctic Granny apples, in the United States. It is expected that the final environmental assessment and plant pest risk assessment will be published soon. According to the USDA's announcement, these reviews have found that Arctic apples "are unlikely to pose a plant pest risk" and deregulation "is not likely to have a significant impact on the human environment."

The apples will be produced by Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc., located in Summerland. The biotechnology company develops new commercial tree fruit varieties, specifically the Arctic Apple. There has been plenty of backlash about the genetically modified organism because the apple uses enzyme technology to not brown. In September a march took place in Kelowna as those opposed to the apple took to city streets.

Photo Credit: Arctic Apple

It will take a while for the apple to hit shelves in the United States since apple trees take several years to produce significant quantities of fruit.

“Our focus is working with growers to get trees in the ground. As more trees are planted and they come into commercial production, there will be a slow, but steady market introduction,” President and Founder Neal Carter explains, estimating Arctic apples will first be available in late 2016 in small, test-market quantities. “And, just like any other new apple variety, it will take many years before non-browning Arctic fruit is widely distributed.

Carter is confident that both apple producers and consumers will embrace Arctic apples, and points to a wealth of consumer research to support this, “We’ve completed focus groups, online surveys, mall intercept studies and more, and all have demonstrated a remarkably consistent result – a strong majority of apple eaters are interested in buying non-browning apples.”

Information about the Arctic Apple can be found online here.