Impossible Foods Receives FDA Approval for ‘Bleeding’ Plant Burger
FDA approves a key ingredient in plant-based burger patties made by Impossible Foods, a rival to Beyond Meat, clearing the way for direct-to-consumer sales at U.S. grocery stores, according to Reuters. The FDA in a statement said it concluded soy leghemoglobin, a protein-based color additive Impossible Food uses to make its burgers look and “bleed” like real meat, was safe. Soy leghemoglobin, which Impossible Food markets as “heme” as the “magic ingredient” of its burgers, is found in the root nodules of plants. It closely resembles hemoglobin, the iron-containing protein found in red blood cells in humans and mammals. Impossible Foods in a statement said it plans to launch its Impossible Burger in select retail stores in September.
Decoding the Food Code
FDA makes Decoding the Food Code: Information to Assist the User, an online-based training module developed to engage and educate stakeholders on the foundational policy principles of the Food Code, available through its website. The FDA publishes the Food Code, a model that assists food control jurisdictions at all levels of government by providing them with a scientifically sound technical and legal basis for regulating the retail and food service segment of the industry. Local, state, tribal, and federal regulators use the FDA Food Code as a model to develop or update their own food safety rules and to be consistent with national food regulatory policy. The training module was designed to help stakeholders, including all levels of government and industry, understand the structure, nomenclature, and conventions of the Food Code in order to prevent foodborne illness.
Produce Safety Assurance Standard
GLOBALG.A.P. launches its the Produce Safety Assurance Standard, a food safety solution that is a subset of the GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) Standard. The GLOBALG.A.P. Produce Safety Assurance Standard V5 covers the certification of food safety and traceability elements throughout a product’s entire agricultural production process, from before the plant is in the ground (origin and propagation material control points) to the packaging. Like IFA, the Produce Safety Assurance Standard is an accredited and recognized third-party certification of primary production processes based on ISO/IEC 17065. The Produce Safety Assurance Standard will also undergo the GFSI recognition process.
New Inventions from USDA Scientists and Researchers
USDA releases its annual Technology Transfer Report, which highlights innovations from scientists and researchers that are solving problems for farmers, ranchers, foresters, and producers. The report reveals 320 new inventions from USDA laboratories in fiscal year 2018, along with 471 licenses, 120 patent applications, and 67 actual patents. Discoveries include a system for removing nitrate from contaminated water and recycling it for re-use as fertilizer; a test strip for major foodborne pathogens that reduces testing time from 24-72 hours to about 30 minutes; a vaccine against Streptococcus suis that may markedly improve the health and welfare of pigs while reducing the use of antibiotics; and a treatment for peanut allergies.
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