It’s been a wild year for Calgene, the California-based firm responsible for the first genetically altered tomato, topic of a Feb. 20, 1994, article.
Unanticipated production problems (the tomato crops in both Mexico and Florida were poor) forced a halt in the marketing of the gene-altered fruit (trade-named MacGregor’s Tomatoes) for several months.
Then giant Monsanto, which is heavily invested in biotechnology, agreed to acquire 49.9 percent of Calgene.
Under the deal, which still must be approved by shareholders, Monsanto will contribute certain genetic patents, its predominating equity interest in Gargiulo L.P., of Naples, Fla., the country’s largest grower and shipper of fresh tomatoes, and an $85 million credit line in return for $30 million in cash and stock.
Finally, the firm rebounded late in the year to complete $14 million in fiscal year sales of MacGregor’s, according to Carolyn Hayworth, spokesperson for Calgene.
The company won U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in 1994 to sell the tomatoes, which carry a genetic construct that blocks the natural gene in the tomato that causes softening and rot, allowing the fruit to stay on the vine longer for ripening.
It is currently sold in Jewel Food Stores and Dominick’s stores in Chicago, as well as in Cincinnati and Indianapolis, and Washington, Oregon and California.
Any other products in the pipeline?
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“We’ll be working on genetically altering strawberries next,” says Hayworth.