Gene Editing for Extended Shelf-Life and Sustainability

Food waste has been increasing around the world. The solution is to extend the shelf life of food, which also helps in reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases

FREMONT, CA: There have been increased amounts of food waste from various workplaces and events. Multiple foods are thrown away before it reaches a consumer. A particular estimate displays that 7 percent of losses occurring postharvest take place on the farm, which means that imperfect foods are discarded before it even reaches the grocery store.

Following this, around 17 to 18 percent of food was wasted by businesses which are consumer-facing, such as cafeterias, restaurants, and households. The biotechnology industry is seeking to amend the food waste issue by modifying the genes of the product to extend their lifetime and make them more aesthetically pleasing.

Extend Shelf-life and Decrease the Emission of Greenhouse Gases

The goal of gene-edited crops is to reduce food waste. In the year 2005, a company developed an innate potato by using the process of gene editing. It was a breed of potato that did not bruise and also emitted reduced amounts of acrylamide, which is a toxin that is released when cooking potatoes in large quantities, as the toxin can be deadly at high levels.

Scientists used the CRISPR-Cas9 technology to modify the genes of the potato, picking out only the favourable traits from numerous breeds in order to achieve a product that is less vulnerable to spoilage. An estimate suggests that around USD 1.7 billion worth of fresh potatoes go to waste each year as a result of poor storage and lowered shelf life. The Innate potato was FDA-approved. Next, researchers are working toward increasing the shelf life of strawberries by using gene editing technology.

In the year 2016, a researcher at the Pennsylvania State University modified the genes of a white button mushroom to sidestep the effects of browning. It circumvented FDA regulations as it was an experiment which was not qualified for oversight. In any case, a voluntary review may be requested to assure that the consumers feel comfortable eating the product and to also display that the company performed its due diligence.

Food wastes, overall, have largely participated in greenhouse gas emissions. However, there are numerous programs which have the goal to handle the issue of food waste by educating the consumers as well as individuals who are professionals in food waste about expiration dates, which only improves food donations, when the food is not being consumed, instead of it going to waste, and it also supports the launch of composting programs. The other alternative is biotech solutions, such as gene-editing crops, which is another vital factor, because the food which has a longer life span, provides a solution to the source of the issue.