Scientists have engineered a pink pineapple: It’s unassuming on the outside but a blushing pink on the inside. The new “Pinkglow” pineapple, which is grown in Costa Rica, is patented and sold by food giant Del Monte and was 16 years in the making — and it’s flying off the shelves.
But what gives this genetically engineered tropical fruit its rosy hue? The flesh is made pink thanks to an extra helping of lycopene, a carotenoid and pigment that occurs naturally in pineapples. It’s also the compound that gives watermelon and tomatoes their reddish color.
In pineapples, lycopene is usually converted to beta-carotene by an enzyme, which makes the inside of the pineapple yellow. That enzyme, lycopene beta-cyclase, is muted in the pink pineapple, and this causes lycopene to accumulate, according to Del Monte’s patent on the new fruit. Because Del Monte has claimed the pink pineapples as intellectual property, it is the only company allowed to grow them.
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In grocery stores, the pink pineapple costs about $10, or roughly twice the price of standard varieties. And online retailers sell a single fruit for $29 to $39.
