USDA clears non-browning romaine lettuce for commercial trials in U.S.
Intrexon has announced it is advancing GreenVenus romaine lettuce to commercial trials. GreenVenus non-browning lettuce has been assessed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and determined not to be subject to regulation under 7CFR Part 340 for plants altered or produced through genetic engineering.
Intrexon has announced it is advancing GreenVenus romaine lettuce to commercial trials. GreenVenus non-browning lettuce has been assessed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and determined not to be subject to regulation under 7CFR Part 340 for plants altered or produced through genetic engineering. Initial data under commercial indoor production conditions indicate that GreenVenus has improved shelf life up to two weeks and a potential for higher marketable yield with no tip burn.
It is estimated that about $3.3 billion worth of lettuce is lost due to waste each year, half of which is the romaine type. Non-browning lettuce can allow for more flexibility in production, processing, shipping, and storage to help reduce the waste of healthy, nutritious food. As the company looks to advance this product in development toward commercialization, standard food and environmental safety considerations still will apply to this product prior to introduction.
“We are pleased to rapidly advance our GreenVenus lettuce with improved marketable yield and shelf life from concept to commercial trials within two years,” said Sekhar Boddupalli, president of Intrexon’s Ag Biotech Division. “The USDA's transparent, risk-based decision helps clarify the path to market for our GreenVenus (non-transgenic) lettuce and greatly facilitates our efforts to expand our precision genetics platform to other vegetables.”
Letter to USDA (pdf)