Impossible Foods Sues Competitor Over Patent Infringement (1)

The maker of the Impossible Burger and other plant-based substitutes for meat products accuses Motif Foodworks Inc. of infringing its patent relating to a protein that’s crucial to the food’s taste and aroma, in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in federal court in Delaware.

Impossible Foods Inc. discovered that heme, a biological molecule involved in oxygen transport, is a central component of meat’s savory flavors and aromas, according to the complaint filed at the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

Impossible extracts heme from a molecule called LegH, which is naturally found in soy plants but which the ...