A Lawsuit Against Burger King Over The Impossible Whopper Has Been Dismissed
Update, July 22, 2020: A Florida judge dismissed a lawsuit filed against Burger King, which accused them of misleading customers into thinking the plant-based Impossible Whopper is vegan, according to Reuters.
U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal in Fort Lauderdale, FL, said that the seven plaintiffs in the case did not have enough evidence that Burger King consumers would be fooled into thinking the plant-based "meat" would be cooked on a separate surface than its meat products and would therefore be vegan. He went on to say, according to the report, that these plaintiffs also did not inquire about the cooking method.
“Burger King promised a non-meat patty and delivered,” Singhal wrote. The report went on to say that the plaintiffs can amend many of their claims if they want to.
Update, February 4, 2020: Burger King has responded to the lawsuit regarding the methods used to prepare their Impossible Whopper.
A vegan man named Phillip Williams issued a lawsuit against the fast food chain after he claims he was misled to think that the Impossible Whopper was vegan. Impossible Whoppers are cooked on the same broiler as the normal beef patties and in an "open kitchen" environment, therefore likely come into contact with meat byproduct.
According to a report by Reuters, Burger King said they never claimed that the Impossible Whopper was indeed vegan. They refer to the burger as "plant-based" and said that if the man had done more research, he would have easily found out how Impossible Whoppers are prepared.
Burger King said that Williams “assumed that an Impossible Whopper would satisfy his own particularly strict form of veganism... solely because he asked a Burger King restaurant employee to ‘hold the mayo,’ the Reuters report details. “This claim has no basis,” Burger King added.
Burger King also explained that upon special request, Impossible Burgers can be made completely separate from the meat products. Still, Williams is seeking damages and wants Burger King to reevaluate how Impossible Whoppers are prepared.
Original Post: November 19, 2019
A man has issued a lawsuit against Burger King because he feels the company has misled vegetarian customers by cooking its Impossible Whopper on the same stove as its meat patties, therefore contaminating them with meat.
According to the suit, Phillip Williams said he heard about the plant-based burger and decided to try it at a location in Atlanta, GA. He said he ordered it through the drive-through with no mayo and ate it, only to find out later that he consumed "a meat-free Whopper Patty that was in fact covered in meat by-product."
Williams, who is vegan, issued the complaint in Florida this week over Burger King's "deceptive and unlawful conduct," according to the suit. The suit makes mention of Burger King's "0% Beef" advertising copy, saying that it implies there is no meat and no meat by-products. The suit also claims no signage in the drive-through indicated that it would be cooked on a grill with meat patties.
On the Burger King website, alongside the 0% beef copy, the chain notes that "guests looking for a meat-free option, a non-broiler method of preparation is available upon request." Burger King did not immediately respond to Delish's request for comment.
It's worth noting, as Business Insider did, that Burger King does not outright call the burger vegan or even vegetarian. That's why you'll often hear it referred to as "plant-based."
"While the Impossible Whopper does not contain meat, it is cooked in the same broiler as our beef and chicken," a representative for Burger King previously told Business Insider. "Guests may ask for the Impossible patty to be prepared in the oven; however, since our restaurants have an open kitchen environment, we don't label the product as vegan."
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