Gene-edited bananas that stay fresh for eight days after slicing are set to go on sale in UK supermarkets

From the Newshound archive · first published 28 September 2026 · last updated 29 September 2026.

Norfolk-based Tropic Biosciences has won Environment Secretary approval for a gene-edited banana engineered to resist browning. The variety uses CRISPR-Cas9 technology to switch off the enzyme behind the colour change. Ordinary banana slices typically brown within a day, whereas this variety stays fresh for as long as eight days once cut. The Food Standards Agency must grant clearance before the product can appear on supermarket shelves.

Tropic used CRISPR-Cas9 to edit three genes responsible for producing polyphenol oxidase, the enzyme that triggers browning when fruit is exposed to oxygen.

Around one million bananas are thrown away every day in the UK, with browning accounting for roughly 20 per cent of total banana yield losses.

Tropic estimates that its non-browning variety could cut food waste and reduce CO2-equivalent emissions across the supply chain by more than 25 per cent.