Impossible Burger: Vegans sue Burger King over ‘contaminated’ burger
You would think vegans would be happy with a meat-free alternative but the burger chain giant is being sued by some unhappy customers.
The vegan Impossible Burger isn’t vegan enough at Burger King.
That’s according to a class-action vegans are launching at the fast-food chain, which they say grills the meat imitation product on the same grill as its fleshy counterpart, according to the New York Post.
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The legal case, filed by Philip Williams of behalf of other vegans on Monday in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida., claims that Burger King has “contaminated” the Impossible Burgers by exposing them to meat by-products on the grill.
BK recently joined a handful of other fast-food chains to offer Impossible Foods, including adding an Impossible Whopper to its kids meals.
The growing trend in plant-based options is expected to be a big money-maker in the restaurant world. The market for products like Impossible Meat is expected to top $A147 billion in 15 years, according to JPMorgan Chase.
According to the class action, Mr Williams ordered the fake-meat burger in Atlanta, where he lives, but was horrified to learn that his burger was grilled on the same surface as the chain’s beef burgers.
As a result, he was left with a “meat-free patty that is in fact covered in meat by-product,” the case alleges.
Mr Williams claims the restaurant gives no indication on their menu that the burgers may be cooked on the meat-touching grills, court papers say.
Currently, a footnote on the chain’s online menu states, “For guests looking for a meat-free option, a non-broiler method of preparation is available upon request.”
Mr Williams is filing the class action along with several other vegans appalled by Burger King’s alleged cooking practices.
A spokesperson for Burger King told the Post the company could not comment on pending litigation.
WHAT IS AUSTRALIA’S BEST BURGER?
News.com.au reporter Ally Foster put her burger expertise to good use last month and rated popular burgers in Australia against one-another, including the Hungry Jack’s vegan option.
QUARTER POUNDER, MCDONALD’S
Ingredients: Aussie beef, cheese, onion, pickles, ketchup and mustard.
I am going to be upfront: I am a sucker for a classic Macca’s burger. There is not much better than tucking into one of these bad boys in the back of a taxi after a night out.
I was pleasantly surprised when I received my Quarter Pounder because it was one of the nicest looking I’d ever got my hands on.
It looked pretty much the same as the promo, which anyone who frequents Macca’s knows is rare.
The flavour was what you would expect; nothing overly special but it is consistent and definitely tasty.
Even though I love a good Quarter Pounder, I did take into consideration that it was a lot smaller than some of the other burgers.
Score: 7/10.
MARY’S BURGER, MARY’S
Ingredients: O’Connor grass-fed beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and Mary’s sauce.
Mary’s doesn’t have as many restaurants as the other burger joints on this list, but its is still a worthy contender.
It has four locations in Sydney and is opening a new one in Melbourne at the end of the year.
The classic Mary’s burger is one of the most popular items on the menu and it’s easy to see why.
One of the standout aspects of this burger is the Mary’s sauce. I don’t know what is in it but it makes the whole burger taste so delicious and gives it an edge on the others.
The patty was cooked perfectly, slightly pink in the middle, which is exactly how it should be.
The only drawback was it was a bit on the sloppy side but the sauce was SO GOOD I’m willing to forgive that.
Score: 9/10.
SIMPLY GRILL’D, GRILL’D
Ingredients: Grass fed lean beef, salad, relish and herbed mayo.
One of the most important factors of a burger is being able to hold and eat it properly.
If the bun is too big, eating it becomes difficult.
The bun that came with this Grill’d burger was massive and, as a result, the whole thing fell apart as soon as I took a bite.
The meat patty was probably the most delicious, but it ruins the experience when you have to constantly reassemble everything just to eat it.
Score: 4.5/10.
BETTY’S CLASSIC, BETTY’S BURGERS
Ingredients: Angus beef, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese and Betty’s special sauce.
The Betty’s Classic was one of the best-presented burgers on offer.
It came with the bottom half wrapped in paper to make it less messy to eat, a handy feature none of the other burgers had.
However, I stupidly decided to unwrap the whole burger and eat it that way, which turned out to be a big mistake.
The first thing I noticed was the other half of burger wasn’t nearly as appetising.
It had been all squished from being wrapped up and the meat was falling out the bottom. Looks aside, it tasted good and had a similar flavour to the Mary’s burger, though the Betty’s special sauce wasn’t on the same level.
Score: 7.5/10.
REBEL WHOPPER, HUNGRY JACK’S
Ingredients: Flame-grilled, plant-based patty, tomato, lettuce, onion, pickles, mayo and tomato sauce.
Unlike the other burgers on this list, this one had no beef in sight.
The patty is plant-based, but Hungry Jack’s claims it tastes just like its classic beef Whopper, so I thought we would test it out to see how it stacks up.
Looking at the burger, you wouldn’t realise the patty wasn’t made of beef. It even looked more appealing than the others.
While it looked like the real thing, it didn’t taste like it.
The patty definitely had a smoky flavour but it tasted like more artificial than a regular beef patty.
It wasn’t a bad tasting, but I don’t think it holds a candle to the real thing.
Score: 6/10.
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
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