Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
GABA-enriched tomato is first CRISPR-edited food to enter market
Sanatech Seed’s Sicilian Rouge CRISPR-edited ‘health-promoting’ tomatoes reach consumers and may open the market to more genome-edited fruit, vegetables and even fish.
Genome-edited food made with CRISPR–Cas9 technology is being sold on the open market for the first time. Since September, the Sicilian Rouge tomatoes, which are genetically edited to contain high amounts of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), have been sold direct to consumers in Japan by Tokyo-based Sanatech Seed. The company claims oral intake of GABA can help support lower blood pressure and promote relaxation.