Plant-based food era just beginning

American food regulators have given the go-ahead for the key ingredient used by Impossible Foods in its clean meat to also be labelled as a colour additive.

In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the safety of soy leghemoglobin protein, which has the heme ingredient found in all animals and plants, has been called the magic ingredient by Impossible Foods, and is the element that gives its plant-based products a meaty taste. The new FDA-backing for it as a colour additive paves the way for the protein to be more widely used to create new plant-based products.

“We’ve been engaging with the FDA for half a decade to ensure that we are completely compliant with all food-safety regulations—for the Impossible Burger and for future products and sales channels,” said Impossible Foods Chief Legal Officer Dana Wagner. “We have deep respect for the FDA as champion of US food safety, and 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.”

Read the article Good Food Institute Founder, Bruce Friedrich, wrote for us earlier this year for more on the plant-based food revolution.