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Well, they did describe it as impossible.
A study of so-called “Impossible Meat” commissioned by the company that engineered it reported negative effects in animals, after only a short time frame of consumption.
Impossible Foods, a California-based company that utilizes genetically modified components, has succeeded in getting Impossible Burger products approved for sale in many countries, including the United States and Canada, after some difficulties.
A processing ingredient called GM soy leghemoglobin (SLH) has attracted the scrutiny of advocacy groups including GMWatch. SLH is added to the fake meat to help give it the look and texture of the real thing.
GMWatch recently reported that a study done by Impossible Foods demonstrated worrying results. After only 28 days of being fed “Impossible Meat,” rats showed signs of inflammation or kidney disease, and possible signs of anemia, according to a study analysis written for GMOScience by GMWatch editor Claire Robinson and Dr Michael Antoniou.
The controversy surrounding SLH hasn’t stopped Impossible Foods from efforts to get its products approved in other jurisdictions.
The Australian/New Zealand food authority FSANZ has already approved SLH for use in foods, and it is expected that Impossible Meat will soon be available there. By keeping the amount of the controversial substance to 0.8 percent, Impossible Foods can even avoid having it labeled on its items.
But GMWatch noted that there’s an active complaint to the FSANZ approval, filed by Friends of the Earth (FoE) Australia and GeneEthics in 2020.
According to the submission, SLH has never been shown to be safe in food. In its natural form, SLH can be found in the roots of soybeans, but it has never been a component of the human diet.
Furthermore, Impossible Foods’ SLH is produced from a GM Pichia pastoris yeast strain. Pichia pastoris has no history of being used safely in food.
FSANZ has not evaluated the safety of all of the proteins present in SLH. Given that even trace amounts of protein can cause anaphylaxis, FoE/GeneEthics’ submission states, “We consider it important that all the proteins produced be identified, characterised and compared with known allergens.”
In the EU, clearance of GM yeast-derived SLH is presently being reviewed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Impossible Foods filed an application for its product there in 2019.