Purple tomatoes will have nutrients similar to superfoods like blueberries
Tomatoes can have many different colors. For example, red, orange, yellow, and green. There is now a new, genetically modified tomato that is purple. The purple tomato has been developed to look good and be healthy.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA) has approved the purple tomato created by the company Norfolk Plant Sciences. The new tomato has a purple color and is modified to have a longer shelf life and more nutrients.
The USDA says that the new plant can be safely grown and used for making more plants in the United States of America.
After the USDA’s approval of the purple tomato, Norfolk Plant Sciences said that it will make seeds available for purchase in the US in spring of 2023. The tomatoes will also be available in shops some time in 2023. The company called the purple tomato “nutritionally enhanced.”
Cathie Martin, a professor at the John Innes Centre developed the nutrient rich purple tomato in 2008. She used the genetics from a flower to help make it.
Norfolk Plant Sciences is based in the UK where the tomatoes are not available yet. Martin says it’s “bittersweet” that the purple tomato will be available in the US, but not in the UK. She is, however, excited to get feedback from people growing the tomatoes at their homes.
Norfolk Plant Sciences says that the tomato is similar to superfoods like blueberries. It has anti-inflammatory qualities. The tomatoes will also reduce waste because they can last longer than normal tomatoes.
VOCABULARY
- Nutrient – a substance (usually food or chemical) that is needed for animals or plants to grow and be healthy
- Superfood – a food with a lot of nutrients that is good for your health
- Genetic – relating to genes and DNA;
- Modify – to make small or minor changes; alter;
- Develop – to make into something more advanced; to improve; to grow something to become better
- Approve – officially agree; accept; to say “yes”; authorize
- Shelf life – the length of time a food is usable; how long a food is OK to eat
- Seed – a small, hard piece from plants that new plants grow from
- Enhance – improve; make better; add to;
- Professor – a teacher at a university
- Rich – a large amount; plentiful; abundant;
- Based in – to operate from a location; to do business from that place; set in a location
- Bittersweet – to be happy and sad at the same time; to have sweet and bitter flavors
- Feedback – helpful information or criticism to help someone improve; a reaction; assessment
- Anti-inflammatory – something that helps reduce inflammation; helps decrease swelling, red and/or pain in your body
- Quality – characteristic; feature; attribute; property
- Reduce – to make less; make smaller; decrease; bring down; shrink
Original story from CNN below:
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