Genetically modified purple tomatoes, known as Purple Bliss, have been cleared for sale in Australia, potentially becoming the first fresh GM food available in local grocery stores. The tomatoes, developed by Norfolk Healthy Produce, get their vibrant colour from genes of snapdragon flowers and are engineered to produce anthocyanins, pigments found in blueberries and blackberries that are thought to have antioxidant properties.
In January, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) approved the GM fruit for sale as a fresh whole tomato or as an ingredient in processed foods such as sun-dried tomatoes or pastes. Products containing the tomatoes must be labelled as genetically modified. A separate licence from Australia's Gene Technology Regulator allows the tomatoes to be grown in the country, with no specific risk management measures required, as the regulator deemed the release posed 'negligible risk to the health and safety of people or the environment'.
Travis Murphy, managing director of All Aussie Farmers, which holds the licence to grow and distribute the tomatoes in Australia, described them as about the size of a cherry tomato, deep purple, and 'a lot sweeter and juicier than normal tomatoes'. He said they can be eaten straight or used in salads, and even in sauces, which would turn purple. The tomatoes were bio-engineered for health and nutrition, with Murphy likening them to 'a blueberry in tomato clothes'. He hopes to have them available in Victorian fruit shops by spring, followed by New South Wales and Queensland.
Prof Natalina Zlatevska, a marketing expert at the University of Technology Sydney, noted that novel foods like purple tomatoes can 'trigger curiosity as much as caution', especially when they look different from what people are used to. FSANZ received 32 submissions during the approval process, with 25 opposing the approval. Critics, including non-profit organisation GE Free NZ, described the approval as a 'Trojan horse' that could threaten biosecurity and consumer health, and criticised FSANZ's reliance on industry-provided data and the lack of long-term human health studies. GE Free NZ also pointed out that naturally purple and black heirloom tomatoes, such as La Cadero and Indigo Rose, are already available.
