In deciding that the additive Impossible Food uses to make its burgers look and “bleed” like real meat is safe, the FDA has paved the way for the fake-meat company’s products to head to supermarkets nationwide.
Already sold in restaurants and fast-food joints (including Burger King), the Impossible Burger — which contains the protein-based color additive soy leghemoglobin — will now be launched in select retail stores starting in September, Reuters reported.
“We’ve always gone above and beyond to comply with every food-safety regulation and to provide maximum transparency about our ingredients so that our customers can have 100% confidence in our product,” said Impossible Foods chief legal officer Dana Wagner.
When the Impossible Burgers hit stores, it will be interesting to see how long they retain that title. This year, 24 states have passed legislation that makes it illegal for plant-based food to be called meat. Additionally, the proponents of those bills don’t want plant-based food items to be called burgers, steaks or dogs.
Impossible’s main competitor, Beyond Meat, already sells its plant-based burgers and sausages at restaurants and supermarkets. Since the California-based company went public in May, its shares have shot up more that 780%.
And meat substitutes as an industry — a category that includes traditional veggie burgers — accounted for $893 million in sales last year.
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