NEWS PENTICTON WESTERN
www.pentictonwesternnews.com
5
news ne
Penticton Legion executive held to secrecy over being turfed
VOL.46 ISSUE 41
10
news
Penticton’s Hunter Visser on verge of earning spot on national squad
page
FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012
RDOS and City throw down gauntlet for Bike to Work Week
B1
entertainment enter rtainment Flipping Fiddler Scott
Centre. Woods at Shatford Centre
IS THERE SOMETHING IN MY TEETH? — Joel Desjardins, 11, gets a close-up look at some of the impressive dental work of theTyrannosaurus rex on stage during the Erth’s Dinosaur Petting Zoo show on the first day of the Rotary Okanagan International Children’s Festival Thursday at Okanagan Lake Park. For story and photos see Page 3. Mark Brett/ Western News
APPLE GROWER HOPES HEALTH CANADA BITES Steve Kidd
Western News Staff
Apples naturally go brown over time once they are cut. But one Okanagan company says it doesn’t have to be that way. Okanagan Specialty Fruits is a privately owned biotech company which has been using “advanced molecular biology tools” to switch off the gene that controls the enzyme that turns the white Àesh of apples brown after being exposed to the air. Neal Carter, president of Okanagan Specialty Fruits, said it isn’t a huge modi¿cation; they are not adding any foreign genes to the apple, only turning off a single enzyme.
After several years of development and testing, Carter said the apples are ready for introduction, and they have taken their Arctic apples to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada seeking approval for uncon¿ned environmental release for commercial planting purposes and other uses. But long before approval, which Carter said may take as long as 30 months, they are facing stiff opposition from B.C. growers, who fear the introduction of geneticallymodi¿ed fruit will harm the province’s reputation as a supplier of high quality fruit. While he extolls the bene¿t of non-browning apples — to growers, packing houses, retailers and consumers like the fresh-
cut food sector — other growers aren’t so sure there is a need for the product, especially considering the possible backlash. “People have been eating apples for a long time and haven’t had an issue with them going brown,” said Kirpal Boparai, president of the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association. And, he said, there is already an apple on the market that doesn’t go brown quickly. Ambrosia, a naturally-occurring crossbreed, shares that characteristic. Apples have a reputation of being pure and healthy, belonging to the same category as milk, according to Glen Lucas, BCFGA general manager. He recalls the backlash when a large milk producer and dis-
tributor began experimenting with genetically modi¿ed hormones being given to dairy cows. “We’ve seen this happen before, we don’t have to imagine,” said Lucas. The BCFGA has responded with two resolutions, one in January 2011 opposing the introduction of genetically-modi¿ed fruit and another this past January, advocating the mandatory labelling of genetically modi¿ed fruit. It’s a stance the B.C. government takes seriously, according to Minister of Agriculture Don McRae. While the apples are currently under review by federal agencies, B.C. citizens will have a chance to comment. “Whether we are trying to sell
domestically or internationally, its important that this region has the reputation it has today going forward,” said McRae. “Whether we are arguing for it or against it, we want to make sure we have the information ¿rst and make sure our argument is as solid as possible. We de¿nitely look to people like the tree fruit growers to get their stance.” Joe Sardinha, a Summerland apple grower and past-president of the BCFGA, takes exception to the federal government stance that the apples will be evaluated from a science-based approach. That’s not enough, he said.
See GROWERS - Page 3