Farmers are modifying their grapes to be so sweet that they are almost dangerous for diabetics to consume them.

Growers have been focusing on the ‘quality’ of their fruit – which means higher in sugar – as well as global warming causing the increase in sweetness.

The candy-like fruits are being bred to taste sweeter, with many being rebranded to resemble a sweet treat.

Cotton candy grapes, Gummyberries, Gum Drop grapes, Pinkglow pineapples, Sunshine Watermelons and Rose strawberries have all been cultivated to move away from their original tastes.

Diabetics have to be careful to moderate their intake of higher-sugar fruits – such as pineapple – with fruit that is bred to be sweeter having less the phytochemicals that make it so healthy and make it more dangerous for those with the condition.

The candy-like fruits are being bred to taste sweeter, with many being rebranded to resemble a sweet treat. Pictured: A Hidden Rose Apple which has been bred to taste like 'strawberry lemonade'

The candy-like fruits are being bred to taste sweeter, with many being rebranded to resemble a sweet treat. Pictured: A Hidden Rose Apple which has been bred to taste like ‘strawberry lemonade’ 

Oishii's strawberries are so soft they have the be put into foam packaging to survive and cost a whopping $15 for a tray of 12 berries

Oishii’s strawberries are so soft they have the be put into foam packaging to survive and cost a whopping $15 for a tray of 12 berries

Humans are not the only ones being affected by the breeding changes, with Melbourne Zoo reporting in 2018 that they were forced to stop giving their animals fruit because it was causing tooth decay.

The monkeys at the zoo were weaned off bananas onto a lower-sugar vegetable-based diet in a bid to help them lose weight.

Research in 2010 showed that the sugar content of many fruits is higher than before because of ‘continuous selection and breeding’.

Most modern apple varieties are on average sweeter than wild apples – with bitterness and sourness being bred out of them.

Studies of wild apples suggest that there is a wider variation in sugar content across them, with modern supermarket apples staying at the same level of sweetness.

However global warming has been partially blamed for the spiking levels of sugar, with research showing that apples became sweeter and softer in rising temperatures.

The Brix scale is how breeders measure the sugar content of fruit, which refers to the percentage of sugar by mass.

Fresh peaches range from nine to 12 degrees of Brix, while modern cherries are routinely at 20 Brix or more.

Cotton candy grapes, Gummyberries, Gum Drop grapes, Pinkglow pineapples, Sunshine Watermelons and Rose strawberries have all been cultivated to move away from their original tastes

Cotton candy grapes, Gummyberries, Gum Drop grapes, Pinkglow pineapples, Sunshine Watermelons and Rose strawberries have all been cultivated to move away from their original tastes

Research in 2010 showed that the sugar content of many fruits is higher than before because of 'continuous selection and breeding'. Pictured: A Sunshine Watermelon

Research in 2010 showed that the sugar content of many fruits is higher than before because of ‘continuous selection and breeding’. Pictured: A Sunshine Watermelon 

Humans are not the only ones being affected by the breeding changes, with Melbourne Zoo reporting in 2018 that they were forced to stop giving their animals fruit because it was causing tooth decay. Pictured: Plums bred to taste like cherries

Humans are not the only ones being affected by the breeding changes, with Melbourne Zoo reporting in 2018 that they were forced to stop giving their animals fruit because it was causing tooth decay. Pictured: Plums bred to taste like cherries

Peaches are being targeted by plant breeders to increase higher-sugar peach varieties, being led by plant breeder and scientist Marco Cirilli.

He told the Wall Street Journal that the average peach can be improved by leaving it in a bowl on a sunny windowsill for a few days and is part of an Italian project trying to create peaches with a Brix score of 25.

Fruit which is allowed to stay on the tree for longer results in a sweeter and fuller-tasting fruit – with English apple farmers saying those bred for sweetness don’t’ develop fully’ if they are picked too early.

Strawberries are also being grown to have a wide variety of flavours – including one created to taste like a pink Starburst and another to have a tropical flavour.

Oishii’s strawberries are so soft they have the be put into foam packaging to survive and cost a whopping $15 for a tray of 12 berries.

They also measure the Brix level of every berry to ensure it is consistent across each package.

Del Monte has also created two new pineapples, their Honeyglow which is picked for a more pronounced flavour and their Pinkglow option which are the colour of deli ham and sell for $15 each

Del Monte has also created two new pineapples, their Honeyglow which is picked for a more pronounced flavour and their Pinkglow option which are the colour of deli ham and sell for $15 each

Only some fruits are changed with genetic engineering – with the Pinkglow having a gene toned down to produce a less yellow pineapple

Only some fruits are changed with genetic engineering – with the Pinkglow having a gene toned down to produce a less yellow pineapple

A set of designer strawberries from Driscoll’s boast Rose Berries, Tropical Bliss and Sweetest Batch which gives off the same flavour of fruit punch.

They are one of the only companies which cross breed by hand, and grows over 100,000 varieties a year – choosing an ‘elite parent plant’ to cross-pollinate with another.

Del Monte has also created two new pineapples, their Honeyglow which is picked for a more pronounced flavour and their Pinkglow option which are the colour of deli ham and sell for $15 each.

Only some fruits are changed with genetic engineering – with the Pinkglow having a gene toned down to produce a less yellow pineapple.

Baldor Specialty Foods has also offered a Sunshine Watermelon – with a golden yellow rind and magenta flesh – as well as the Hidden Rose Apple which has a pink flesh and is created to taste like strawberry lemonade.

Dillard’s director of strawberry breeding, Phil Stewart, , told the New York Times: ‘It’s very gratifying as a plant breeder to produce something that people like that much.

‘The world needs alfalfa, but nobody’s excited when you show up at a party with a box of alfalfa, you know?’

DailyMail

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