WASHINGTON, D.C. — The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced its decision to deregulate the first genetically modified (GMO, or GM) apple.

In a statement issued Feb. 13, APHIS said it was deregulating two apple varieties genetically engineered to resist browning. The products are owned by a Canadian company, Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF), and will be marketed as the Arctic Granny and Arctic Golden.

APHIS took the action based on a plant pest risk assessment, or PPRA. The assessment found GMO apples are unlikely to pose a plant pest risk to agricultural and other plants in the United States. APHIS also completed an environmental assessment (EA) to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, which found that deregulation is not likely to have a significant impact on the human environment.

An EA is a specific scientific investigation conducted by a federal agency such as the EPA or USDA; it’s similar to an environmental impact statement, though not as extensive.

Also, according to the announcement, OSF is currently engaged in a voluntary food safety consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding its Arctic apples. At the end of this investigation the agency will post a letter on its website with its conclusions.

"We’re super excited about it, of course," said Neal Carter, president and founder of OSF.

"We waited over 57 months for this. Now it means Arctic apples can be grown and marketed in the United States. Arctic apples represent the possibility of doubling the market for apples."

In a statement, the U.S. Apple Assoc. (USAA) said it is supportive of GMO apples.

"USDA declared in its review that Arctic apples are just like any other apple except for their non-browning trait," the statement says. "Arctic apples offer the same nutrition benefits as non-GMO apples. Browning is a natural process that happens when an apple is exposed to oxygen. Arctic apples do not include genes from other species but use apple-to-apple biotechnology to silence, or ‘turn off,’ the gene in apples that causes browning."

That was not always its position. In a Farm World story on July 2012, USAA spokesman Mark Gedris said it was "opposed to the deregulation. There are already apples that are low-browning. Consumers aren’t asking for it."

Last week USAA President Jim Bair said it was "apparent the Arctic apple was going to be approved by USDA, so we’re working hard to help consumers understand they will have choices as all other apple varieties remain non-GM, and whatever the apple, they are all wholesome, nutritious, portable and affordable."

Bair wouldn’t give his opinion about whether browning is a problem in the apple industry, but said OSF "believes the institutional food service market – schools, restaurants, hotels – will be interested."

Carter said he was frustrated at the time by USAA’s view of the Arctic apple. "It was hard to fathom what position they took," he said. "It was such a small market we’re talking about."

He added the USAA was taking the position it wasn’t against a GMO apple in principle, but was against this particular GMO apple because of concerns it might disrupt the market. He said he worked with them to "educate them on what our product is all about and I think that helped."

Carter said he’s planning to have about 20 acres of trees in the ground this spring, followed by another 100 acres in the spring of 2016.

He’s set a goal of 10,000 acres in 10 years. In the medium-term he’s hoping to get Mexico to deregulate the apple as well.

"They’ll sort of trickle into the market," he said. "There’s lots of opportunities and demand in food service for the Arctic apple."

The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) and the Society for a GE Free BC weighed in on the issue as well.

"The Canadian market needs to remain closed to this GM apple," said Lucy Sharratt, coordinator of CBAN. "Health Canada should not approve this apple. Consumers and farmers simply don’t want it on the market."

If approved by Canadian regulators, CBAN stated this would be the second GMO fruit on the market anywhere in the world, after a U.S.-grown papaya, and it would be the first GMO fruit grown in Canada.

Last year, a petition asking the British Columbia government for a moratorium on the GM apple was submitted with more than 7,000 signatures, gathered by the Society for a GE Free BC in 20 communities.

"This apple is an outrage," said Teresa Lynne of the Society for a GE Free BC. "We don’t need it and we don’t want it."