Plant-Based Impossible Burger Set for September 2019 Retail Launch

The plant-based Impossible Burger will be available for purchase in U.S. retail stores in September 2019 following FDA approval for use of soy leghemoglobin as a color additive. The additive is a protein that carries the iron-containing molecule heme and provides a meat-like taste. While this protein is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for consumption, the FDA determined that soy leghemoglobin could be considered a color additive in the future, prompting Impossible Foods to file a color additive petition with the Agency in November 2018. Last month, the FDA concluded “that there is reasonable certainty of no harm from this use of soy leghemoglobin as a color additive.” Impossible Burger has teamed with OSI Group to produce the plant-based burger starting in August 2019 with plans to quadruple production capacity by the end of 2019.