Fruits and Vegetables.
At present, there are no genetically modified fruit or vegetables on the consumer market in the EU. The GM plants authorized in the EU are not intended for direct consumption. Nevertheless, genetic engineering has unfortunately become standard practice when it comes to research and crop improvement.

Resistance to pests and diseases.
Researchers are trying to understand the complexities of gene function, which could allow them to give plants new traits. Ongoing projects are working on giving plants resistance to pests and diseases, but it seems that genetically modified fruits and vegetables are still quite a long way from commercial use in the EU.

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Tomatoes.
GM tomatoes have, as far as we have been able to find out, never received authorization in the EU. They have reportedly even disappeared from the market in the United States.

Poster-child for GM foods.
The tomato has been a symbol for genetically modified food for many years, since genetically modified tomatoes hit the market in the US in 1994 as the first commercially available genetically modified crop. This transgenic tomato, FlavrSavr, had a "deactivated" gene which meant that the tomato plant was no longer able to produce polygalacturonase, an enzyme involved in fruit softening. The idea was that tomatoes could be left to ripen on the vine and still have a long shelf life. Normally, tomatoes are picked well before they are ripe and are then ripened artificially. These GM tomatoes, however, did not meet expectations. Although they were approved in the US and several other countries, tomatoes with delayed ripening have disappeared from the market after peaking in 1998. At this point, no genetically modified tomatoes are being grown commercially in North America or in Europe. Applications that were submitted several years ago have since been withdrawn.

GM tomato puree a hit in the UK.
Tomato puree made from GM tomatoes was a big success in the mid 90s in Great Britain in spite of the fact that the puree were clearly marked as having GM origin. Later, an application was submitted for approval according to EU laws on genetic engineering. Although EU committees of scientific experts assessed the tomato puree as harmless, Member States could not come to an agreement. The application was withdrawn in 2002.

The work goes on.
Scientists are still working with genetic tools to give tomatoes new traits like resistance to insect pests and fungal and viral pathogens. Other projects aim to enrich tomatoes with substances offering health benefits. All of these products, however, are still many steps away from receiving authorizations. Today in the EU, all tomatoes found on the market, whether they're fresh or canned, are, as far as we have been able to find out, not genetically modified.

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