Silicon Valley’s Impossible Foods says it is “ready to go”, with ambitious plans to target the UK market, but its progress remains stifled by an ongoing wait for regulatory approval for its hero product the Impossible Burger.
The US plant-based brand has long harboured ambitions of bringing its famous ‘bleeding’ vegan burger – which contains soy leghemoglobin, aka plant-based heme – to the UK.
Heme gives the product its meat-like taste and texture. However, Impossible Foods is still waiting for the regulatory green light for the ingredient, derived from soy plants – despite submitting an application for approval with the Food Standards Agency in 2021.
Securing the long-awaited go-ahead for the product would unlock a significant UK investment by the business “in the tens of millions” of pounds, said Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness, leading to the potential for the business to also manufacture locally, with a full brand proposition “covering breakfast, lunch and dinner”.
“The UK has been very clear about wanting to do business and get the economy going, and we’re ready to contribute to that,” McGuiness told The Grocer. The brand was still in the dark over when the scientific assessment on heme would be approved by the FSA, he added.
The ingredient was declared as safe to eat last autumn by the EU, having passed a first European Food Safety Authority test last summer. The company is now awaiting final approval from the European Commission and EU member states, and has also secured regulatory approval in countries ranging from Singapore to New Zealand and Australia, in addition to the US.
“We are actively engaged with the FSA, having been back and forth on information gathering,” McGuinness added. “They have all the information they need – they have more about heme than any other country in the world – I hope a decision is imminent.”
A UK launch – complementing a limited presence in foodservice for Impossible’s alt chicken range, launched in May 2022 – would help stimulate the wider plant-based category after a challenging few years, he said.
“The UK has led the way on plant-based, but it’s been plateauing, and the feedback we hear is that a lot of people think [meat alternatives] doesn’t taste good,” he added, in contrast to the Impossible Burger, which he said consistently delivered on taste in consumer testing.
“We’re attracting a lot of interest from grocery store chains, schools and restaurants – consumer demand is there. The faster we get this party started the more everybody benefits.”
In response, Dr Thomas Vincent, deputy director of innovation at the FSA, said: “All new food products must undergo a rigorous safety assessment to make sure they are safe for people to eat before they can be sold.
“To carry out the assessment, the FSA requires robust and detailed information from the food business. We have maintained ongoing dialogue with Impossible Foods and are continuing to provide advice throughout the authorisation process.
“This week we launched a new pilot business support service to help companies developing innovative products navigate this process and this service will soon be expanding to support businesses such as Impossible Foods.”
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