Meet Gabriella Rothberg, 17, who turned a sandwich idea into a patent for meat-flavoured tomatoes

A sandwich idea at 15 led Miami student Gabriella Rothberg to develop genetically engineered tomatoes designed to produce heme, an iron-containing molecule associated with meat flavour.

Now 17, she is listed alongside her father on a US patent issued in June 2026.

The project remains experimental, with taste and nutritional benefits yet to be established.