01 Aug 2019 --- The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved soy leghemoglobin as a color additive in uncooked ground beef analog products. This follows meat-alternative company Impossible Foods’ 2018 petition to have the ingredient accepted as a color additive. Soy leghemoglobin imparts a reddish-brown color but has already been used by Impossible Foods as the “magic ingredient” to give an optimized beefy flavor. This ruling will allow the company to now sell raw Impossible Burgers directly to consumers, instead of cooked via restaurants.