How food waste could be decreased by using new gene-edited bananas. Let’s explore more!

Brown, overripe bananas often end up in dustbins, even when they are perfectly edible. Because of this, scientists have developed a new genetically engineered banana that has a longer shelf life and is less likely to brown.

Tropic, a biotech company based in the UK that developed these bananas, claims that their fruit remains fresh and yellow for 12 hours after being peeled and does not turn brown when bumped during harvesting and transportation.
Why do bananas become brown?
A banana's life cycle is colourful; it starts out as a deep green, turns a delicious yellow, and finishes up as an unappetizing brown if it isn't eaten first. These changes are caused by their ripening process, which is triggered by the hormone ethylene.

Bananas create a lot of ethylene, but so do many other fruits. Additionally, they continue to produce ethylene after harvest, unlike citrus fruits and melons. Numerous genes, including one connected to the synthesis of the enzyme polyphenol oxidase (PPO), become active when exposed to ethylene.

This enzyme is responsible for the browning of bananas. When PPO and oxygen come into contact, the yellow pigment in bananas turns brown. Fruit that has been bruised, which happens frequently when it is handled, produces more ethylene, which accelerates the ripening and browning process.

How did they prevent the banana from browning?

The company carefully altered the bananas' DNA to stop PPO from developing. This doesn't stop a banana from ripening, but it does assist preserve appearances so the fruit continues to look tasty for longer.

The same gene was silenced in Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc.'s Arctic apples. These fruits are the first genetically modified fruits to be approved for commercial sale in the United States, and they have been available for purchase in the US and other nations since 2017. Additionally, apple browning is caused by PPO.

This is environmentally harmful and a waste of money. Food waste is one of the primary contributors to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are causing global warming. Preventing bananas from browning could help cut down on food waste by promoting the use of older but still edible fruit.

Tropic's non-browning bananas "may enable a reduction in CO2 emissions equivalent to removing 2 million passenger vehicles from the road each year," the company said in a press release.