Pink pineapples hit Instagram months after FDA approval

A popular summertime fruit has undergone a dramatic makeover thanks to genetic engineering and fresh photos are trickling through social media.

Del Monte Fresh Produce plans to produce and distribute a pink flesh pineapple after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it last December, as reported by NBC News.

The typically yellow fleshed fruit has been modified to tone down the enzyme levels. Lycopene, the pigment active in making watermelons pink, is the special ingredient in pink pineapples. The FDA has said the pigment is “commonly and safely consumed.”

The fruit company has been developing the “Rosé pineapples” since 2005, British newspaper Metro has reported.

The pineapples are being grown in Costa Rica and Hawaii. They have been labelled “extra sweet pink flesh pineapple.”

Genetically modified organisms have been a hot topic for some time, but the FDA is attempting to assure consumers that these new pineapples are perfectly safe to eat.

“We use the term ‘genetic engineering’ to refer to genetic modification practices that utilize modern biotechnology. In this process, scientists make targeted changes to a plant’s genetic makeup to give the plant a new desirable trait,” the FDA explained, citing two new apple varieties that are resistant to browning by reducing enzyme levels associated with that trait.

There is no set date for when these modified pineapples will be available in stores, but they have been making appearances on social media and could soon be coming to a grocery store — or Instagram feed — near you.