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After gaining approval for a non-browning trait in Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples, Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF) hopes it can get the green light for Arctic Fujis as well.

The company is particularly upbeat about its latest petition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requesting deregulation of the variety, given Fuji apples are one of the fastest browning apple cultivars.

"Developed using the same innovative techniques as other Arctic® apple varieties, Arctic® Fuji apples have been grown and tested in field trial orchards for over a decade," the group said in a release.

"The petition being reviewed by the USDA contains substantial data collected over many years that demonstrates the safety and healthfulness of Arctic® Fujis, and we are extremely confident that they will be granted approval in a timely manner."

OSF expects the review will progress more quickly than for the Arctic Golden and Arctic Granny varieties, as regulatory agencies are now familiar with the science behind the non-browning trait; a result of silencing polyphenol oxidase, the enzyme that initiates browning.

"After all, Arctic® apples have no meaningful differences from their conventional counterparts, besides their nonbrowning trait that gives them the Arctic Advantage™ of course!"

The first commercial volumes of the now deregulated Arctic apple varieties are still a few years away, but the team had some samples on show during the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Summit in Atlanta last year, giving out Arctic Granny smoothies.

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