Australia is first country to approve genetically engineered banana, modified to resist disease

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Quarantined Australian banana plantation. Credit: Charlie McKillop

Queensland researchers have just received news over 20 years in the making – their genetically modified banana species called QCAV-4 has been approved by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ).

This makes it the first whole genetically modified fruit assessed and approved by FSANZ and the first GM banana approved in the world.

QCAV-4 is genetically modified to be resistant to Panama Disease tropical race 4 (TR4) which has decimated banana markets around the world.

“TR4 is caused by a soil-borne fungus that stays in the ground for more than 50 years, wiping out banana crops and destroying farms for generations,” said [Queensland University of Technology Tropical Crops professor James] Dale.

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The banana is a normal Cavendish banana with a single changed gene called RGA2. This gene is from a wild, south-east Asian banana called Musa acuminata ssp malaccensis.

Currently, the researchers have no plans to commercialise the GM banana in Australia, but instead it’s to be used as a safety net if T4R hits Queensland.

For the next steps for QCAV-4, Food Standards Australia New Zealand has notified the Food Ministers’ Meeting that it has been approved. The meeting has 60 days to request a review, or the banana will be allowed to be sold.

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