这是每个水果碗的噩梦：切好的香蕉还没端上桌就变褐了。但这种烦恼很快可能成为过去，因为能保持鲜剥颜色的基因编辑香蕉离英国消费者更近了一步。
It is the bane of every fruit bowl: sliced banana that turns brown before it has reached the table. But such woes could soon be a thing of the past, with gene-edited bananas that keep their freshly peeled colour now one step closer to reaching British shoppers.
据开发这种水果的诺里奇农业生物技术公司Tropic介绍，这种香蕉口感和质地相同，但剥皮切片后能长时间保持“新鲜、黄亮和诱人”。
According to Tropic, the Norwich-based agricultural-biotechnology company that developed the fruit, the bananas have the same taste and texture but stay “fresh, yellow and appetising long after peeling and slicing”.
Tropic首席执行官Gilad Gershon表示，这种新香蕉的果肉抗褐变时间能多延长一两天——冷藏后时间更长。他补充说，这一创新可让香蕉更容易添加到水果沙拉、早餐杯等预包装产品中，同时还能减少浪费。
Gilad Gershon, the chief executive of Tropic, said the flesh of the new banana resisted browning for an extra day or two – and longer if chilled. He added that the innovation could make it easier to add bananas to prepackaged products such as fruit salads and breakfast pots, as well as reducing waste.
环境、食品和农村事务部上周批准了该香蕉的上市通知，确认其精准育种地位——这是其上市所需的两个重要要求之一。
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs last week approved a marketing notice for the bananas, confirming their precision-bred status – one of two important requirements for them to be placed on the market.
根据食品标准局（FSA）的规定，只有当基因变化可通过传统育种方法实现时，才会授予精准育种地位。
According to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), precision-bred status is given only if the genetic changes made could have been achieved through traditional breeding methods.
这不同于基因修饰，因为精准育种生物不含来自无关物种的DNA。
This is different from genetic modification because precision-bred organisms do not contain DNA from unrelated species.
诺里奇约翰·因尼斯中心项目负责人、曾研究基因编辑番茄的Cathie Martin教授表示，所有获得上市批准的作物（包括这种新香蕉）的下一阶段是接受FSA审查以确保产品安全。她说：“目前尚不完全清楚这需要多长时间。”
Prof Cathie Martin, a project leader at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, who has worked on gene-edited tomatoes, said the next stage for all crops that had received marketing approval – including the new bananas – was a review by the FSA to ensure the safety of the products. “It is not entirely clear how long this will take,” she said.
Tropic利用一种名为Crispr-Cas9的基因编辑技术，改变了果实内单一基因的所有三个拷贝，从而开发出这种香蕉。结果，他们成功减少了导致褐变的酶——多酚氧化酶的产生。类似方法在减少其他农产品（包括蘑菇）的褐变方面也已证明有效。
Tropic developed the bananas by using a gene-editing technology called Crispr-Cas9 to alter all three copies of a single gene within the fruit. As a result, they were able to reduce the production of polyphenol oxidase, an enzyme that causes browning. A similar approach has been effective in reducing browning in other produce, including mushrooms.
Tropica表示，不褐变香蕉可使供应链上的食物浪费和二氧化碳当量排放减少25%以上。“仅在香蕉出口市场，这每年就可支持减少超过900万吨的二氧化碳排放，”该公司表示。
Tropica said the non-browning bananas could reduce food waste and CO2-equivalent emissions along the supply chain by more than 25%. “This could support an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of over 9m tonnes in the banana export market alone,” the company said.
一项政府研究发现，每天有140万根可食用的香蕉被丢弃。三分之一的消费者（30%）表示，他们曾因香蕉皮上有轻微碰伤或黑斑而丢弃香蕉。
A government study found that 1.4m edible bananas were thrown away each day. A third of consumers (30%) said they had discarded a banana owing to a minor bruise or black mark on the skin.
研究人员利用基因编辑技术培育出了口感更甜的草莓、抗病作物，以及果实更紧凑或维生素D含量更高的番茄。
Gene editing has been used by researchers to develop sweeter-tasting strawberries, disease-resistant crops and tomatoes that are more compact or high in vitamin D.
精准育种植物法规于去年11月生效，仅适用于英格兰。然而，英国食品标准局（FSA）指出，在英格兰获授权并投放市场的精准育种食品可在威尔士和苏格兰销售，前提是不再进行进一步加工，北爱尔兰也有类似规定。目前尚无精准育种生物获准在英格兰上市销售。
Regulations for precision-bred plants came into effect in November last year and apply only to England. However, the FSA notes precision-bred foods that are authorised and placed on the market in England can be sold in Wales and Scotland, provided they are not processed further, with similar rules for Northern Ireland. No precision-bred organisms have been granted market authorisation for sale in England.
Gershon表示，Tropic已在包括日本、巴西和菲律宾在内的其他10个国家获得了不褐变香蕉的监管批准。这种水果已在拉丁美洲种植。
Gershon said Tropic had gained regulatory approval for the non-browning bananas in 10 other countries including Japan, Brazil and the Philippines. The fruit is already being grown in Latin America.
环境食品和农村事务部（Defra）发言人表示：“精准育种在提升粮食安全、减少农药使用、增加作物产量和增强抗病性方面具有巨大潜力。
A Defra spokesperson said: “Precision breeding offers huge potential to boost food security, cut pesticide use, increase crop yields and enhance disease resistance.
“不褐变香蕉是创新如何有助于减少食物浪费、提高粮食系统可持续性，同时保持我们世界领先标准的一个绝佳例证。”
“[The non-browning banana] is a great example of how innovation could help to reduce food waste and improve the sustainability of our food system while keeping our world-leading standards in place.”