Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 22, 1994 TAG: 9405220016
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: D-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NORTHBROOK, ILL. LENGTH: Medium
The answer's in the genes.
The world's first genetically altered tomatoes went on sale Saturday in the Chicago area and in northern California.
Customers trying the product said it was a tomato by any other name that tasted as sweet, despite being more than twice the price.
"It had a good aroma, a good total flavor," said Jay Martin of Chicago.
The tomatoes hit grocery stores just a few days after the Food and Drug Administration gave them approval for marketing.
It was the first time the agency had evaluated a whole food produced by biotechnology, although the FDA gave approval in 1990 to a food product, chymosin - a milk-clotting agent used in making cheese.
The tomato's genetic changes allow it to stay ripe longer than Mother Nature ever intended - about 10 more days.
That means growers can leave the fruit on the vine longer and allow it to develop a more flavorful taste before picking it and shipping it cross-country.
Critics worry that genetically altered foods could produce proteins that set off reactions for people with rare allergies. For example, someone allergic to fish may not know if a tomato has been altered with a fish gene.
Altered crops also could create new traits harmful to the environment, they argue.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture two years ago ruled the plant poses no risk to the environment and Calgene Fresh Inc. said its tomato uses plant genes already widely found in the food.
Calgene said it spent eight years and $20 million creating the tomato - which the company dubbed Flavr-Savr - and voluntarily sought FDA approval to bolster consumer confidence.
"This tomato is something my customers wanted," said Jim Corrigan, owner of the Carrot Top market in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook, which Calgene said was the first store to sell the tomato.
"Maybe the term `genetic engineering' seems to have some weight to some people, but the concept has been around for some time, and to refer to it as anything unnatural is ridiculous," he said.
"The overriding concept - just like you would want a flower that has more color - is that consumers want something that has more flavor."
The tomatoes' skins appeared more orange than your garden-variety tomato, but the insides were more red. They were zesty, with a lingering aftertaste.
Each fruit had a sticker saying "MacGregor's Tomatoes grown from Flavr-Savr seeds," and brochures were available to tell about the development process.
While consumers who tasted the fruit liked it, Calgene might encounter resistance because of the price.
The Carrot Top listed them at $2.79 a pound, compared to $1.29 for regular tomatoes.
Corrigan and Calgene officials believe customers will be willing to pay more, especially between October and June when the quality of tomatoes drops because of growing conditions.
Tomato sales during those months decline an average of 30 percent, surveys have found.
Calgene spokesman Jeffrey Bergau said the tomatoes initially will be available in only 70 stores because the fruit is only being grown on small plots in California, Florida and Mexico.
The company expects the fruit to be widely available in 1995.
by CNB