Modifying Tomatoes With Anthocyanins Produces Fruit Less Susceptible To Softening, Rot

British researchers have modified purple tomatoes with the natural pigment anthocyanin, resulting in a doubling of the shelf life of the popular fruit from an average of 21 days to 48 days while maintaining flavor. The new variety of tomatoes solves a serious problem for growers and grocers: post-harvest losses due to rotting. Current methods of preventing rot – e.g., picking the fruits when green then ripening them using ethylene gas – result in loss of flavor. The researchers found that anthocyanins not only retards the over-ripening process that leads to rotting and softening, it retains flavor and makes them less susceptible to gray mold caused by the fungus Botrytis cinerea.