Are bananas GMO?

Expert response from Community Manager

Moderator for GMOAnswers.com

Tuesday, 07/07/2015 10:03

Are bananas GMOs? The short answer is no. The banana available in U.S. grocery stores is a cultivar called the Cavendish banana. This type of banana is a non-GMO banana that is not currently available as a GM variety, or GMO, in the United States. So are the bananas you buy in your grocery shop GMO-free? Yes, they are.

However, are all bananas GMO-free? Interestingly, the Cavendish banana is under disease pressure from Fusarium wilt and biotechnology to create GMO banana brands could be one solution to the disease.

Biotechnology is currently being used to improve bananas in Africa. For example, a research program in Uganda is working on a GM banana that could help prevent vitamin A deficiency, so while the bananas you see in grocery stores are not genetically modified, they are being tested and there could be a case for creating non-GMO bananas in the future

If you have any additional questions about non-GMO bananas or any specific banana hybrid varieties, please ask.