The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the Impossible Burger for direct-to-consumer sales at grocery stores in the US. The website now says, “Good news! The Impossible™ is headed to U.S. grocery stores later this year.”
Heme (soy leghemoglobin), an ingredient added by the company to its foods to replicate the taste of meat, was initially problematic in the early stages of the development process. After a lengthy investigation, heme was passed by the FDA last July as suitable for human consumption, and now just over 12 months later the product has been declared as safe for general retail. The burgers are already available at 10,000 fast food restaurants across the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau.
The Impossible Whopper also becomes available nationwide in all American Burger King locations from this week as of 8th August. Impossible Foods in a statement revealed that its Impossible Burger will be in select retail stores from September.
“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 the company’s chief legal officer, Dana Wagner.
