On Oct. 3, 2016, Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF) announced that it had successfully completed the first commercial harvest of its non-browning Arctic Golden apple variety. The healthy fruit from this inaugural harvest was sold as fresh sliced apples in test markets across North America in early 2017.

With ~40% of apples wasted each year, many due to superficial bruising and browning, OSF looks forward to the 2017 commercial launch of its groundbreaking non-browning solution, which does not use any flavor-altering chemical or antioxidant additives, to drive benefits across the entire apple supply chain, importantly to growers and consumers alike.  

The Company also announced the completion of its 70,000 tree planting goal for 2016 including both Arctic^® Golden and Arctic® Granny varieties, and currently has 300,000 and 500,000 trees under contract in North America for planting in 2017 and 2018, respectively.  Cumulatively, at maturity, these trees will produce over 30 million pounds of Arctic^® apples on an annual basis. 

Furthermore OSF has begun plans for planting in North America in 2019 and beyond, as well as additional international markets pending further regulatory approvals.  

Okanagan Specialty Fruits is a small, dynamic biotechnology company based in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1996, and acquired by Intrexon as a wholly owned subsidiary in April 2015, OSF specializes in developing tree fruit varieties with novel attributes that benefit fruit producers and consumers alike.