Sweet Science: How CRISPR Could Future-Proof Cacao
By TESS OWINGS
A game-changer for the food industry has entered the chat: CRISPR technology. What exactly is CRISPR technology?
According to Innovative Genomics, CRISPR allows DNA to be edited in almost any kind of cell or organism. This is done by repurposing Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) to make breaks in DNA at precise locations. This could lead to cures in genetic diseases and improvements in agriculture, which is what makes it so appealing for the food industry.
When it comes to agriculture, CRISPR technology can help make crops more resilient to climate, disease and environmental stress, according to a report by Food Manufacturing. Chocolate manufacturers, for example, have been struggling with rising cacao costs due to supply challenges.
CRISPR can help modify cacao to protect it from bad weather, disease and other environmental stressors.
“CRISPR is a tool that presents opportunities to unlock and accelerate the development of diverse traits in crop plants,” Dr. Sarah Garland, PhD in Plant Sciences and founder of Triple Helix, told The Food Institute. “For the food industry, CRISPR techniques can contribute to consumer-facing flavor and nutrition characteristics as well as helping to secure crucial upstream agricultural resilience.”
Read the entire article at The Food Institute.