04/29/2024

A Bioengineered Tomato Seeds Mix-up Sparked Fears about Spread of GMO Crops

The mix-up has caused some industry consternation

The Purple Galaxy Tomato splashed across the cover of this season's Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog: a closeup of a blackish-purple tomato speckled with tiny pink dots. Next to it, sits a sliced open fruit, revealing deep fuchsia seeds and flesh.

"This beauty is believed to be the first — and the purplest — non-GMO purple tomato in the universe!" read the catalog copy.

Only problem? The seeds actually may have been a GMO variety, the recently released Purple Tomato, created using genes from a snapdragon flower by Norfolk Healthy Produce.

Please select this link to read the complete article from NPR.