Crop Biotech Update

Nine Gene-edited Berries from Pairwise Receive USDA Confirmations

January 31, 2024

Pairwise, a health-focused food and agriculture company, has received confirmation of nine new regulatory exemptions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for gene-edited blackberries and black raspberries. These new exemptions represent different traits that are important to both consumers and growers.

The new nine exemptions bring the total number of Pairwise's confirmed trait exemptions for berries to 19, which include seedless, thornless, and higher-yielding traits in blackberry and black raspberry. The company's total number of confirmed exemptions is now 21, which it achieved in 15 months.

According to USDA, plants with edits that meet the requirements for these exemptions are “achievable by conventional breeding.” The berry exemptions are part of a larger batch from the USDA, signifying the breadth and depth of the application of CRISPR and other gene editing techniques to both increase biodiversity and deliver new varieties of crops based on meaningful traits.

For more details, read the news release from Pairwise. The official confirmation letters are available at APHIS.USDA.gov.


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