SUMMERLAND, British Columbia,
Oct. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/
-- Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF)
announced today that it has successfully completed the first
commercial harvest of its non-browning Arctic® Golden
apple variety. The healthy fruit from this inaugural harvest
will be sold as fresh sliced apples in test markets across
North America in early
2017.
"We are pleased to see over 20 years of hard work and effort
coming to fruition with this first commercial harvest of our
Arctic® Golden variety," said Neal Carter, founder and president of Okanagan
Specialty Fruits. "With growing industry and consumer interest in
the advantages our solution brings, we eagerly anticipate seeing
our freshly sliced apples in grocery stores, supermarkets, and
kitchens across the United States
and Canada."
With ~40% of apples wasted each year, many due to superficial
bruising and browning, OSF looks forward to the 2017 commercial
launch of its groundbreaking non-browning solution, which does not
use any flavor-altering chemical or antioxidant additives, to drive
benefits across the entire apple supply chain, importantly to
growers and consumers alike.
The Company also announced the completion of its 70,000 tree
planting goal for 2016 including both Arctic® Golden and
Arctic® Granny varieties, and currently has 300,000 and 500,000
trees under contract in North
America for planting in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
Cumulatively, at maturity, these trees will produce over 30 million
pounds of Arctic® apples on an annual basis.
Furthermore OSF has begun plans for planting in North America in 2019 and beyond, as well as
additional international markets pending further regulatory
approvals.
In Arctic® varieties the expression of polyphenol
oxidase (PPO), the enzyme involved in oxidative browning, is
virtually eliminated. As a result, the apples do not brown when
bruised, bitten or cut, yet will still show discoloration from
bacterial or fungal infections and rot just like any other
apple. "Providing consumers access to delicious, sliced
apples that do not brown means more apples will be eaten and less
thrown away, helping reduce overall waste and lowering cost for
families," added Mr. Carter.
OSF's Arctic® Golden and Arctic® Granny
varieties have been reviewed and approved by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Health Canada
(HC). OSF also recently received deregulation of the
Arctic® Fuji variety in the U.S. from USDA.
For more on its two decade journey to reach this first
commercial harvest see OSF's "It's Just the Beginning" video.
About Okanagan Specialty Fruits®
Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. (OSF) is a small, dynamic
biotechnology company based in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada. Founded
in 1996, and acquired by Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON) as a
wholly owned subsidiary in April
2015, OSF specializes in developing tree fruit varieties
with novel attributes that benefit fruit producers and consumers
alike. For consumer information, visit www.arcticapples.com; for
information about the company and partnership opportunities, visit
www.okspecialtyfruits.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Some of the statements made in this press release are
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
are based upon our current expectations and projections about
future events and generally relate to our plans, objectives and
expectations for the development of our business. Although
management believes that the plans and objectives reflected in or
suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, all
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and
actual future results may be materially different from the plans,
objectives and expectations expressed in this press release.
For more information contact:
Media Contact:
Email: media@okspecialtyfruits.com
Phone: (250) 404-0101
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-ever-commercial-harvest-of-okanagan-specialty-fruits-arctic-golden-apples-completed-300337833.html
SOURCE Okanagan Specialty Fruits