Genome-edited food made with CRISPR–Cas9 technology is being sold on the open market for the first time. Since September, the Sicilian Rouge tomatoes, which are genetically edited to contain high amounts of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), have been sold direct to consumers in Japan by Tokyo-based Sanatech Seed. The company claims oral intake of GABA can help support lower blood pressure and promote relaxation.
In Japan, dietary supplements and foods enriched for GABA are popular among the public, says Hiroshi Ezura, chief technology officer at Sanatech and a plant molecular biologist at the University of Tsukuba.
“GABA is a famous health-promoting compound in Japan. It’s like vitamin C,” he says. More than 400 GABA-enriched food and beverage products, such as chocolates, are already on the Japanese market, he says.
Sanatech’s high-GABA tomato, as a nutritionally enhanced crop, stands out. The fact that it was engineered using CRISPR seems to help with consumer acceptance, especially as such crops aren’t being called “GMOs,” or “genetically modified organisms.” Instead, they’re dubbed “genome-edited.” This change in nomenclature alone seems to have quelled a lot of the backlash historically launched against bioengineered plants.
