One of the biggest food trends right now is eating plant-based: this means eating less meat and more plant foods. Even the most meat-eating of carnivores say the Impossible Burger mimics a traditional beef burger in terms of taste, texture, and aroma, but how is this “impossible” feat accomplished and what does that mean nutritionally?

The Impossible Burger’s ingredient list may look pretty intimidating, but each of the ingredients serve a very specific purpose that contribute to the finished product. The main ingredients are water, soy protein concentrate, coconut oil, sunflower oil, potato protein, heme (soy leghemoglobin), yeast extract, salt, binders, B-vitamins and some minerals.

The “heme” ingredient (soy leghemoglobin) is the main genetically engineered ingredient made from soy and yeast to produce the signature beef flavor. After all, “heme” iron is the component that makes beef taste like, well, beef. Over the years, genetically modified foods have gotten a bad rap – understandably. Science is a pretty scary thing, especially if the technology is new and unfamiliar. But this doesn’t mean GMO foods are bad or harmful, nor does it mean that we should make the world full of “super-crops”. Adequate and rigorous testing, rules, and regulations are definitely needed to make sure things are safe. Since I can go on and on about GMO foods, we’ll leave that post for another day.

Another key ingredient is the soy protein concentrate, which contributes to the protein content of the burger. Soy protein concentrate is considered a high quality protein, as measured by the protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS). This score evaluates how digestible proteins are based on amino acid content and digestibility. Eggs and beef are almost 100% digestible with a score of 0.98 (highest being 1.0). Soy is 95% digestible with a score of 0.95. Newer studies have found a range score of 0.91 to 1.0 for soy protein concentrate and the Impossible Burger contains a published PDCAAS of 0.99. Soy protein concentrate also has fiber and several vitamins and minerals such as potassium, magnesium, iron and phosphorus.

Finally, the coconut oil and sunflower oil add to its flavor and juiciness when cooked.

We know that the Impossible Burger does a wonderful job of mimicking the taste and texture of a beef patty, but what does it look like nutritionally?

Impossible Burger Facts

At first glance, there’s a couple things that stand out. First of all, there’s quite a bit of sodium – definitely more than the average beef patty (3.5 ounces of 80% lean / 20% fat cooked, pan-broiled ground beef patty has 83 mg sodium). This makes sense – you need a flavor enhancer like salt to make the burger taste good. However, Americans today consume about 50% more sodium than is recommended, much of this is hidden in these types of foods. You might already know that canned soups, frozen dinners, and processed/packaged foods have a lot of sodium, but did you also know that bread, cereal, pasta, sandwiches, deli meat and salad dressing actually make up most of the sodium we consume? While for much of the population, sodium intake does not pose an issue, but for those with heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, and several other diseases, too much sodium can be harmful. It’s recommended that healthy adults have less than 2,300 mg (about one teaspoon of table salt) to decrease their chances of getting one of these diseases.

Remember, sodium is not bad, but it is important to be conscientious of the sodium content in the foods we eat to make sure we aren’t overdoing it.

The second thing that stands out is the saturated fat content. The coconut and safflower oil definitely add to the saturated fat content. Neither of these oils are necessarily bad for you, but it’s important to be aware of saturated fat content. The USDA currently recommends that less than 10% of calories per day can come from saturated fat as part of a healthy diet – that would be about 22 grams of saturated fat for a 2,000 calorie diet. Having only 8 grams of saturated fat in an Impossible Burger doesn’t seem like a lot, but if you take into consideration all the other things the average American eats (fast food, processed foods, baked goods), it can add up.

To create a plant-based burger that looks, tastes, smells, and feels like real beef is definitely an accomplishment and a step towards more sustainable eating practices. While it does taste good, it’s important to keep in mind what you’re eating and make sure you have it in moderation.

References:

1. Gertjan Schaafsma, The Protein Digestibility–Corrected Amino Acid Score, The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 130, Issue 7, July 2000, Pages 1865S–1867S, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/130.7.1865S
2. Report of an FAO Expert Consultation, Dietary protein quality evaluation in human nutrition, FAO Food and Nutrition Paper, http://www.fao.org/ag/humannutrition/35978-02317b979a686a57aa4593304ffc17f06.pdf
3. The Impossible™ Burger: Made from Plants. Impossible Foods. https://impossiblefoods.com/burger/. Accessed July 21, 2020.
4. You May Be Surprised by How Much Salt You’re Eating. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/you-may-be-surprised-how-much-salt-youre-eating. Accessed July 21, 2020.