Big Purple Tomato can be grown by US gardeners USDA, APHIS decides

US gardeners will be able to purchase seeds of the nutritionally enhanced high-anthocyanin purple tomato from spring 2023, following a decision by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), marking a breakthrough for Norfolk Plant Sciences.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has determined that the genetically modified tomato is “unlikely to pose an increased plant pest risk relative to its comparator.”

This a big step forward for Norfolk Plant Sciences, a spinout company from the John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory and the UK’s first GM crop company. Its aim is to find ways of commercialising their research into plants with enhanced health-giving compounds.

Long wait for agreement

The decision follows a long wait for Professor Cathie Martin MBE of the John Innes Centre who developed the anthocyanin rich purple tomato in 2008 by engineering a precise genetic “on switch,” derived from an edible flower.

“This is fantastic, I never thought I would see this day. We are now one step closer to my dream of sharing healthy purple tomatoes with the many people excited to eat them,” she said.

“The tomatoes will be on sale in America and by focusing on home growers we will be consumer oriented, and able to get feedback and interest needed to develop other products.”

Big Purple Tomato health benefits

Hundreds of people in the US have already expressed interest via the Big Purple Tomato website in buying tomatoes and seed once they become available

Anthocyanins are antioxidants associated with a host of health benefits and are important to an anti-inflammatory diet. Independent studies show that antioxidants and anthocyanins can reduce incidence of cancer, improve cardiovascular function, and improve health and well-being. Lab studies also suggest these healthy compounds could help alleviate irritable bowel syndrome.

Professor Jonathan Jones of The Sainsbury Laboratory said: “This is a red-letter day for crop improvement, with approval of a beneficial product by USDA, after careful scrutiny of a detailed information dossier that describes its properties.

“We also look forward to sensible regulatory frameworks for such products in the UK, and effective methods to protect our major crops from disease, using genetics instead of chemistry.”

Although other purple-skinned tomato varieties do exist, they do not accumulate useful levels of these healthy compounds within the fruit flesh.

While it is possible to use nutritional supplements to increase intake of these compounds, there is increasing evidence to show that they work much better when consumed within foods.

More about the Big Purple Tomato.