Sunshine tomato wins marketing approval

The John Innes Centre said on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, that its gene-edited “Sunshine” tomato had received the first marketing notice approved for a precision-bred tomato in England. The Norwich-based institute said the decision moves the tomato closer to commercialization after work led in the lab of Professor Cathie Martin. (jic.ac.uk) Defra’s precision-breeding register lists the tomato marketing notice, reference PBM/26/SOLY/001, among notices received under England’s new precision-breeding system. The approval cited by local outlet EDP24 matches a John Innes Centre statement issued the same day. ### So what was actually approved today? (jic.ac.uk) Defra’s register says PBM/26/SOLY/001 is a precision-bred organism marketing notice for a tomato plant, published on August 27, 2026, and governed by the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 and the 2025 regulations in England. The register says marketing notices include the notice itself, advice to the Secretary of State from the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment, and the Secretary of State’s decision on whether the organism is precision bred. The John Innes Centre said on September 2 that “the first marketing notice for a precision bred tomato in England has now been approved,” describing that as a step closer to commercialization rather than a full retail rollout. (jic.ac.uk) The institute also said the tomato is its first crop to receive precision-bred organism marketing approval. ### What is the “Sunshine” tomato supposed to do? The John Innes Centre said the tomato was developed to accumulate high levels of pro-vitamin D3 in its fruit and leaves. The institute said sunlight or UVB exposure converts that precursor into vitamin D3, the more stable form relevant for human nutrition. (gov.uk) The marketing notice says the intended alteration is “increased accumulation of pro-Vitamin D3 in plant tissues, especially leaves and fruits.” It says the intended use is commercialization in England for human nutrition as a biofortified food aimed at counteracting vitamin D deficiency, especially in autumn and winter, with end products planned for fresh consumption as well as processed uses. (jic.ac.uk) ### How was it gene-edited? The government filing says the tomato is Solanum lycopersicum and that CRISPR-Cas9 was used to create an insertion-deletion mutation in one nuclear gene. (jic.ac.uk) The notice says the edit was a 108-base-pair deletion in exon 2 of the Sl7-DR2 gene, producing a loss-of-function change. The John Innes Centre said the edit does not affect the plant’s appearance, growth or yield. The institute said each tomato has “potentially as much vitamin D as two eggs or 28g of tuna.” (gov.uk) ### Why were researchers working on vitamin D in tomatoes? UK Research and Innovation said on September 23, 2025 that researchers had launched one of the UK’s first human trials of a gene-edited food to test whether biofortified tomatoes could raise vitamin D levels in people who consumed them. UKRI said one in five people in the UK are deficient in winter and spring, and almost one billion people worldwide do not get enough vitamin D. (gov.uk) Professor Cathie Martin said in the John Innes Centre statement that vitamin D deficiency is “a widespread problem” and that the biofortified tomato could become a “low-cost, simple, plant-based solution” to improve diets. (jic.ac.uk) That is the public-health case the research team is making; the statement does not say the tomato has yet received food authorization for sale. ### Does this mean people in England can buy it now? Food Standards Agency guidance says a precision-bred organism must be authorized for food or feed use before it can be used in a food or feed product and placed on the market in England. The John Innes Centre said its next steps include “an application for FSA approval.” (ukri.org) The John Innes Centre also said the plants will be crossed with sweeter-tasting and striped varieties that can be marketed as the “Sunshine” tomato. Diego Durantini, project manager for the Sunshine tomato project, is scheduled to attend the British Tomato Growers Association’s 2026 British Tomato Conference on September 24. (jic.ac.uk) (data.food.gov.uk)