Company to Release Genetically Modified Nonbrowning Apples

— -- Genetically modified apples that its maker claims are nonbrowning will soon be available to customers in the U.S.

The Golden Delicious apples, sold under the brand Arctic, are scheduled to arrive in a select number of grocery stores in the Midwest in February. In order to produce the nonbrowning effect, Okanagan Specialty Fruits, the Canadian-based company behind the apples, eliminated the gene responsible for producing the oxidizing enzyme that turns apples brown when they are cut open.

The company said the process, which it says will prevent the apple from browning for up to three weeks, avoids the anti-browning treatments often used on fresh apple slices.

"Arctic apples' nonbrowning advantage makes them very well suited to products like fresh apple slices, which typically require anti-browning treatments like calcium ascorbate to maintain their color," the company said in a statement to ABC News. "Arctic apples not only avoid the costs associated with these anti-browning solutions, they can also avoid the impact that these treatments can potentially have on the taste and texture of sliced fruit."

The fact that the apples are genetically modified has raised concerns among some consumers.

The Organic Consumers Association, a Minnesota-based nonprofit group focused on issues such as food safety, industrial agriculture and genetic engineering, said in a statement to ABC News, "As is the case with most GMO foods, the Arctic apple never underwent rigorous independent premarket safety testing, yet these apples will come on the market unlabeled. This means that once again, consumers will be guinea pigs for the biotech industry."

"Worse yet, this product is intended primarily for use by fast-food retailers and institutions, such as schools, that cater to children, who may be more vulnerable to potential health hazards," the association added. "The apple was not developed in response to consumer demand. The biggest market for the apple are restaurants and institutions that want to be able to sell apples that were sliced days or weeks ago, without concerning themselves with how fresh the produce looks or is."

"Our biggest concern is that the nonbrowning technology, RNA interference, could come with a host of unknown, unintended and potentially risky health and environmental consequences," the association said.

Okanagan argued the apples have met the standards of regulatory processes in Canada and the U.S.

"Thanks to their nonbrowning benefit, Arctic apples can reduce food waste and help more people to eat more apples — goals that everyone can get behind," the company said in its statement. "Arctic apples have been demonstrated to be as safe and nutritious as traditional apple varieties through over a decade of study and have satisfied the rigorous U.S. and Canadian regulatory review processes."

The apples do not present an issue from a health standpoint but may be an issue for consumers' tastes, according to ABC News' chief health and medical editor, Dr. Richard Besser.

"I think from a health and safety standpoint there's not an issue there," he said. "People hear the word 'GMO' and they freak out. When you look at [the apple] scientifically, when you look at it molecularly, it's still the same apple, just minus that one enzyme."

"As a consumer, I like my apple to turn brown. It's a sign to me that it's not quite as fresh," Besser added. "I don't want to bite into an apple and it's mushy and that's the first sign that that apple is no good."