Summerland’s own non-browning Arctic Apple has been approved for sale in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced its decision Friday to deregulate the first two non-browning apple varieties, the Arctic Golden and Arctic Granny apples, in the United States.

These Arctic apple cultivars were developed through the use of biotechnology or genetic modification by Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc., a company based in Summerland.

“The commercial approval of Arctic apples, our company’s flagship product, is the biggest milestone yet for us, and we can’t wait until they’re available for consumers,” says Neal Carter, president and founder of OSF. “It is truly enormous, it allows us to come out of a holding pattern we have been in waiting for approval.”

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved two varieties of the genetically modified non-browning Arctic apple. The Arctic Granny and the Arctic Golden “are unlikely” to pose a plant risk to agriculture and other plants in the U.S., according to the USDA’s Feb. 13 announcement. According to the USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service’s environmental assessment, necessary before approving genetically modified products, commercial production is not likely to have a significant effect on the human environment, according to the release.

In a comment period that extended from late 2013 to early 2014, the USDA received thousands of comments on the petition to regulate the Arctic apples, the first genetically engineered apple to seek a market in the U.S. The Arctic apple has generated opposition.

In October 2013, baby food maker Gerber said it had no plans to use Arctics and soon after fast food giant McDonald’s said it had no plans to serve them. Apple industry leaders have been concerned about the Arctic’s potential to harm consumer perception of apples.

The industry anticipated the Arctic’s approval, said Wendy Brannen, director of consumer health and public relations for the Vienna, Va.-based U.S. Apple Association. “We have been on standby, anticipating this decision and preparing to answer consumer questions about what their choices will be — now and down the road,” she said in a news release. “We want to make clear that all other apples currently in stores are non-GMO and will remain available for consumers to continue buying, including non-GMO varieties that are naturally low browning. “