The Impossible Burger can now be sold at retail, following FDA’s approval of color additive

Image courtesy of Impossible Foods

The Impossible Burger, a plant-based meat alternative, may be coming to grocery store shelves, after FDA amended its color additive regulations to provide for the safe use of soy leghemoglobin as a color additive in uncooked “ground beef analogue products.” Prior to this, soy leghemoglobin, which lends the Impossible Burger its meat-like aroma, taste, texture, and “bleed,” was only approved for use in products if it was sold to consumers in cooked form. The product has been advertised by a number of fast food restaurants, such as White Castle and Burger King, for example. Now that the color additive can be used in uncooked format, Impossible Burgers have the go-ahead to be sold directly to consumers in grocery stores.

Due to its growing popularity, there was a months-long shortage of the Impossible Burger at participating food-service locations. As a result, Impossible Foods, the Silicon Valley, CA-based producer of the burger, has signed a deal with OSI Group, a global food manufacturer, to expand production. OSI will begin making the Impossible Burger starting next month, and has added short-term capacity to Impossible Foods’ Oakland, CA factory.