Flavr Savr

Common card · No. 496436

Flavr Savr (also known as CGN-89564-2; pronounced "flavor saver"), is a genetically modified tomato that was the first commercially grown genetically engineered food to be granted a license for human consumption. It was developed by the Californian company Calgene in the 1980s. The tomato has an improved shelf-life, increased fungal resistance, and a slightly increased viscosity compared to its unmodified counterpart. It was meant to be harvested ripe for increased flavor for long-distance shipping. The Flavr Savr contains two genes added by Calgene; a reversed antisense polygalacturonase gene, which inhibits the production of a rotting enzyme, and a gene responsible for the creation of APH(3')II, which confers resistance to certain aminoglycoside antibiotics, including kanamycin and neomycin. On May 18, 1994, the FDA completed its evaluation of the Flavr Savr tomato and the use of APH(3')II, concluding that the tomato "is as safe as tomatoes bred by conventional means" and "that the use...

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