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What was the first genetically altered whole food?

The first genetically altered whole food to be approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration was the Flavr Savr tomato, developed by Calgene of Davis, California. (The Flavr Savr was approved by the FDA on May 18, 1994.) Unlike most commercially grown tomatoes, which are harvested green and ripened by the use of ethylene gas, this firmer tomato can ripen on the vine without later spoiling on the way to market.

A genetically altered whole food is a new plant variety produced by genetic engineering (the deliberate alteration of an organism's DNA). Genetically altered food additives existed before the first genetically altered whole food.

Source: Science News, vol. 145 (May 28, 1994), p. 342.

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