Impossible Foods unveiled its Impossible Pork and Sausage at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas Monday as part of its effort to overtake the meat industry with plant-based alternatives, the Associated Press reports.
The new products are the company’s first offerings beyond its popular Impossible Burger, which is sold in 17,000 restaurants around the world.
The company decided to focus on pork as its next venture because it’s the most consumed meat outside of the US and will allow the brand to gain traction in new markets. China, in particular, has the potential to be a big market for the brand. The country has the highest pork consumption rate in the world, faces growing water and food insecurity, and regularly contends with animal-borne illnesses.
The Impossible Sausage will undergo its first public taste test later this month when it debuts in 137 Burger Kings across five cities in the US. The Impossible Croissan’wich will feature the plant-based meat, egg, and cheese.
Burger King introduced an Impossible Whopper in 2019, which quickly became one of the fast food chain’s most successful product launches ever.
Impossible Foods’ new pork products share a lot of the same ingredients with the Impossible Burger, including soy-based heme, which gives it flavor and texture, and various fats and binders such as coconut oil. The sausage also includes additional spices.
In addition to flavor and texture, the pork is meant to resemble pork in nutritional content. AP reports that the pork has less fat and calories than traditional pork and similar levels of protein, but more sodium.
Impossible Foods isn’t trying to make healthy meat alternatives, although red meat has various health drawbacks, including increasing the likelihood of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Instead, the company is trying to make products that meat eaters will choose to eat on the basis of taste alone.
The company’s ultimate goal is to end animal agriculture because of the environmental toll the industry it taking on the planet.
Animal agriculture is a significant driver of climate change, deforestation, habitat destruction, and pollution. Unless the industry is greatly reformed, global temperatures will likely soar into worst scenario territory, according to the World Resources Institute.
“Everything that we’re doing is trying to avert the biggest threat that the world is facing,” Impossible Foods CEO Pat Brown told the Associated Press.