Impossible foods debuts plant-based pork

Impossible Foods is sampling its next-generation products this week at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The food tech startup is providing an exclusive first taste of Impossible Pork -- a plant-based version of the world’s most ubiquitous meat. The company is also launching Impossible Sausage, which debuts in late January at 139 Burger King restaurants in a limited-time test of the Impossible Croissan’wich.

Impossible Pork is described as a delicious, nutritious, gluten-free, plant-based ground meat that can be used in any recipe that calls for ground pork from pigs. It is said to contain no gluten, no animal hormones and no antibiotics. It has 16 g protein, 3 mg iron, 0 mg cholesterol, 13 g total fat, 7 g saturated fat and 220 calories in a 4-oz. serving. Conventional 70/30 pork from animals contains 17 g protein, 1 mg iron, 86 mg cholesterol, 32 g total fat, 11 g saturated fat and 350 calories in a 4-oz. serving.

Impossible Pork is said to be easy to cook in the steamer, oven, charbroiler, flat-top grill or sauté pan. Chefs can use Impossible Pork in recipes from stir-fry to meatballs to dim sum or links. Impossible Pork is designed to be eligible for kosher and halal certification if produced in a kosher- or halal-certified plant.

Impossible Foods is launching Impossible Sausage which the company says is a juicy, savoury meat that pairs perfectly with traditional breakfast accompaniments or can be used as a centre-of-the-plate delicacy at any meal. The plant-based, pre-seasoned product can be used in any recipe or dish that calls for animal-derived sausage.

Impossible Sausage contains no gluten, no animal hormones and no antibiotics. A raw, 2-ounce serving has 7 g protein, 1.69 mg iron, 0 mg cholesterol, 9 g total fat, 4 g saturated fat and 130 calories. A 2-ounce serving of conventional Jimmy Dean’s raw pork sausage made from pigs contains 7 g protein, 0.36 mg iron, 40 mg cholesterol, 21 g total fat, 7 g saturated fat and 220 calories.

“Impossible Foods cracked meat’s molecular code -- starting with ground beef, which is intrinsic to the American market. Now we’re accelerating the expansion of our product portfolio to more of the world’s favourite foods,” said Impossible Foods’ CEO and Founder Dr. Patrick O. Brown. “We won’t stop until we eliminate the need for animals in the food chain and make the global food system sustainable.”