Impossible Foods To Launch Vegan Pork Mince And Sausage

American company Impossible Foods, the producer of famous plant-based Impossible Burger, announced that it plans to launch meatless ground pork and sausage this year. The company turns its focus to international expansion in 2020.

The food producer will launch Impossible Sausage later in January at 139 Burger King restaurants across the U.S. 

Impossible is selling its meatless burgers and ground beef mainly to restaurants, although its burgers can be found in about 150 U.S. grocery stores. Burger King has been selling Impossible’s plant-based burger nationwide since August, boosting its sales by 4.8% during the third quarter.

The company’s new minced meatless pork the Impossible Pork could become a hit in China which is the world’s biggest pork consumer. African swine fever putting pressure on global pork supply and higher prices caused an increasing demand for meat alternatives. Impossible’s plant-based beef products are sold in Hong Kong and Macau but have not yet received approval to sell in mainland China.

“We’ll be there as soon as possible once we get approval,” said Rachel Konrad, spokeswoman for Impossible.

Impossible Pork contains controversial soy leghemoglobin, which waits for approval from food industry regulators. The ingredients known as heme is produced from genetically modified yeast and is used to mimic the flavour and aroma of real meat. The Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. approved heme as a colour additive in September, so Impossible Foods could sell its burgers in grocery stores.

In the U.S., pork is the third most consumed meat and it is most associated with sausage. The Impossible sausage will contain more fat than beef so it tastes more like a real thing. 

“We turned up the volume on fat and changed the texture and turned down the heme,” Konrad said.

Attendees of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas will get the chance to be the first to try Impossible Pork.