Burger King Sued for Alleged Contamination of Impossible Whoppers

A vegan Burger King customer is suing the fast-food chain for allegedly contaminating its meatless Impossible Whoppers by cooking them on the same grills where the standard beef patties are cooked. The proposed class-action lawsuit was filed in Miami federal court, although the plaintiff, Phillip Williams, said he bought his Impossible Whopper at an Atlanta location. Williams said he would not have paid the extra price for an Impossible burger if he knew it would be "coated in meat by-products."

Williams is seeking damages for every customer who bought an Impossible Burger and demands Burger King "plainly disclose" when Impossible Whoppers are cooked on the same grill as regular burgers. Burger King did not comment on the lawsuit, reports Reuters.

The Impossible Whopper is advertised as "100% Whopper, 0% Beef," and the chain's website claims "for guests looking for a meat-free option, a non-broiler method of preparation is available upon request."

The Impossible Whopper was created with Impossible Foods, Inc., which make several meatless products and introduced the Impossible Burger in 2016. In 2019, they introduced a new recipe, just in time for Burger King to start selling it.

"We launched the Impossible Burger in 2016, but we didn't stop there. Since then, we've been learning how to make it even better. As of 2019, we're proud to announce that there's a new recipe in town," the company's website reads. "The new Impossible Burger is tastier, juicier and more nutritious -- featuring 30% less sodium and 40% less saturated fat than our current recipe and just as much protein as 80/20 ground beef from cows. 100% more delicious and more versatile than ever."

The company boasts that the new recipe is "better in every way: taste, texture, nutrition, versatility. To do this, we added (and removed) some key ingredients."

Burger King started selling the Impossible Whopper in August, after testing it in select locations earlier this year.

This month, Burger King announced it would start making the Impossible Whopper Jr. and the Impossible Burger option available for kids meals. The rollout started at locations in Milwaukee, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, August, Georgia, Cincinnati and Buffalo, New York, reports the New York Post.

The company has reported that sales jumped by 5 percent with the help of the Impossible Whopper, which is now available at 7,000 locations. It has become "one of the most successful product launches in brand history," the company said.

Although the Impossible Whopper is available as a plant-based option to meat hamburgers, it is not necessarily healthier. According to CNET, a four-ounce Impossible Burger 2.0 has 240 calories, 14g fat, 370mg sodium, 9g carbohydrates, 3g fiber and 19g protein.