Lawsuit claims Burger King's Impossible Whoppers are contaminated by meat
Burger King was sued on Monday by a vegan customer who accused the fast-food chain of contaminating its meatless "Impossible" Whoppers by cooking them on the same grills as its traditional meat burgers.
In a proposed class action, Phillip Williams said he bought an Impossible Whopper, a plant-based alternative to Burger King's regular Whopper, at an Atlanta drive-through, and would not have paid a premium price had he known the cooking would leave it "coated in meat by-products."
The lawsuit filed in Miami federal court seeks damages for all U.S. purchasers of the Impossible Whopper, and an injunction requiring Burger King to "plainly disclose" that Impossible Whoppers and regular burgers are cooked on the same grills.
[...] Its website describes the Impossible Burger as "100% Whopper, 0% Beef," and adds that "for guests looking for a meat-free option, a non-broiler method of preparation is available upon request."
Also at Boing Boing.
Previously: Meatless "Beyond Burgers" Come to Fast Food Restaurants
Burger King Adds Impossible Vegan Burger To Menu
Plant-Based "Impossible Burger" Coming to Every Burger King Location
Related: Inside the Strange Science of the Fake Meat that 'Bleeds'
FDA Approves Impossible Burger "Heme" Ingredient; Still Wants to Regulate "Cultured Meat"
Following IPO of Beyond Meat, Tyson Foods Plans Launch of its Own Meatless Products
Impossible Burger Lands in Some California Grocery Stores
(Score: 2) by edIII on Wednesday November 20 2019, @12:24AM (1 child)
I think Vegan does mean that there are no traces of animal parts actually. You've got a great point about the bug protein because the rules regarding our food are actually quite fucking disgusting if you look. There are actual amounts of rat, insects, and feces allowed per tonnage of material. The FDA isn't even guaranteeing anything is going to be completely free from contaminants, but setting acceptable levels.
This situation is more about false advertising than reasonable expectations. Replace vegan with gluten-free. Gluten-free is actually pretty damn important for some people. I feel tons better without it, but a relative needs a damn EPI pen.
The real question may be if it is reasonable to expect food to be cooked without cross contamination. I think it is a reasonable expectation if they're saying gluten-free, but it's also reasonable to default to contaminated surfaces unless stated otherwise.
For the Vegans, they need to assume the worst at all times, unless it is specifically stated there is no cross contamination and non-Vegan cooking products involved.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by dry on Wednesday November 20 2019, @02:51AM
And if you look at ingredient lists of lots of things where gluten etc is unexpected, often at the bottom of the list is a section, may contain, with wheat, nuts, peanuts and such, all due to the possibilty of cross-contamination.