A Canadian Company called Arctic Apples has successfully created genetically modified apples that do not oxidize or get brown for three weeks after being cut, bruised or bitten into.

The apple will be sold in packages of slices. It will go on sale in Midwest in February and March. The apples were modified by "silencing" polyphenol oxidase (PPO) expression. The company claims that these non-browning apples and their trees grow in orchards just like the non-modified ones.

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The Science Behind Oxidization of Fruits and Vegetables

According to Arctic Apples, fruits and vegetables produce the chemical PPO, which serves as protectors against pests or pathogens in tomatoes. However, fruit and vegetables produce a lot of them as a defense mechanism. Apples, on the other hand, do not have a need for it and thus, produce very low levels of PPO, and only in very young fruit, the company said.

"Its presence is probably left over from apples of ages ago, playing no role in today's apples," Arctic Apples explained.

Despite almost a decade of research and successfully growing apple trees grow in orchards just like their normal counterparts, the company admits that there is still a lot to learn. Also, Arctic mentioned that PPO contains antioxidants beneficial for the heart but not enough is known about how much one's recommended intake should be.

According to Organic Authority, around five hundred 40-pound boxes of the genetically modified apple slices will be on shelves at ten stores in the Midwest. Rather than being labeled specifically as GMO produce, they will have a QR code that, when scanned, will identify them as such.

Further, the company is leaving it up to stores to decide to sell the fruit or not. "We don't want to skew our test marketing results by choosing stores that may be more friendly to genetic engineering," the President of Arctic Apples, Neal Carter, said.

The company is very optimistic about this product as it has received good reviews at trade shows. "It's a great product, and the eating quality is excellent," the company said. Arctic Apples plans to expand its current orchards, currently in British Columbia and Washington state, up to 2,800 acres by 2021 if the test run goes well enough.