In the near future, you might notice your fruit has a lot less color – on the inside, at least.

The world's first non-browning genetically modified apple, called the Arctic Apple, is set to debut in select Midwestern grocery stores as early as Feb. 1.

Okanagan Specialty Fruits, a subsidiary of the biotechnology firm Intrexon, spent the last 20 years developing the GMO apple, which doesn't brown after bruising or slicing.

While other GMO food products have been marketed as a way to protect crops and increase yield, the Artic Apple appeals to a simpler and more direct sentiment: consumer comfort.

"We see this as less about genetic modification and more about convenience," said Neal Carter, Okanagan Specialty Fruits founder. "I think consumers are very ready for apples that don't go brown. Everyone can identify with that ‘yuck' factor."

The Arctic Apple will be sold sliced in 10-oz bags and marketed as a snack food. The product will look similar to pre-sliced apples treated with chemicals to prevent browning already sold in school cafeterias and some fast food chains.

So how will consumers know if the Arctic Apple is still fresh? Critics of the GMO fruit are asking the same thing – and why we need non-browning fruits at all.

"This apple is understudied, unlabeled, and unnecessary," said Dana Perls, the senior food and technology campaigner with environmental nonprofit Friends of the Earth, to the Washington Post.

"It's only a matter of time before consumers realize they're being falsely marketed to… and then there will be an uproar."

The Center for Food Safety also expressed concern at the lack of testing of not only the apple, but also the genetic impacts of the tree on which it grows.

The Arctic Apple was developed using RNA interference or gene silencing. In this case, scientists targeted the reduction of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzymes that are responsible for browning. These enzymes are also found throughout the tree, where the genetic impacts of manipulating PPOs are unknown.

"This decision is scientifically irresponsible and misguided,"Â said Dr. Doug Gurian-Sherman, senior scientist at Center for Food Safety.

"The agency has failed to analyze whether suppressing fruit browning with these novel RNAs impacts the rest of the gene family in the tree, or whether there are off-target impacts on other genes.

The Arctic Apple packaging will not include an explicit GMO label, but will have a QR code – a black and white image that, when scanned with a smartphone, directs consumers to more information about the product. The QR code method of GMO labeling is in line with the federal GMO labeling law passed last year.

It's the most recent food on a growing list of GMO products approved for human consumption, including a pink pineapple that contains lycopene, a purple tomato that includes extra antioxidants, a CRISPR-created mushroom that also resists oxidation and browning, and AquaBounty salmon.

Read More:

• The apple that never browns wants to change your mind about genetically modified foods (Washington Post)
• Non-Browning GMO Apples Heading For the U.S. (WBUR)