Australia has given the green light to the commercial sale of genetically modified purple tomatoes, raising expectations that they would become the first genetically modified fresh food available in Australian retail stores. The Purple Bliss tomatoes are developed by Norfolk Healthy Produce. They owe their distinctive violet colour to genes borrowed from snapdragon flowers. These tomatoes have been modified to produce anthocyanins, the same pigments found in blueberries and blackberries, which are believed to possess antioxidant properties.
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Following approval from Food Standards Australia New Zealand, the GM tomatoes can now be sold fresh, as whole tomatoes, or as an ingredient in processed foods like sun-dried tomatoes or pastes. Products containing these tomatoes will be required to carry labels specifying their genetically modified status.
Additionally, a separate licence issued by Australia's Gene Technology Regulator permits the tomatoes to be grown in Australia. The regulator concluded that their release poses “negligible risk to the health and safety of people or the environment”.
The genetically modified purple tomato is the second GM food to receive approval for growth and sale as a whole food in Australia. Although a GM banana was approved in 2024, it has not yet hit the market. According to Travis Murphy, managing director of All Aussie Farmers, which holds the licence to grow and distribute the tomatoes in Australia, these tomatoes are roughly the size of cherry tomatoes. They have a deep purple colour and are notably sweeter and juicier than regular tomatoes.
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“You can just eat them straight as they are, or use them as you would any normal cherry tomato in salads. If you really wanted to use them in sauce, you could do that and turn your sauce purple," he said.
Murphy shared that they plan to stock the Purple Bliss tomatoes in local Victorian fruit shops around springtime, followed by New South Wales and Queensland. Meanwhile, the purple tomatoes have already made their debut in the US market.