NSF and Impossible Foods have announced that the brand’s Impossible Beef and Impossible Burger have become NSF Certified for Sport. The certification confirms the quality, purity, label accuracy, and safety of the products.

Impossible’s products contain 19 grams of complete protein per serving, no cholesterol, and 33% less saturated fat and 40% less total fat than animal protein. They also contain carbohydrates, B vitamins, and potassium.

“NSF Certified for Sport is the gold standard in sports. It’s a huge deal to have Impossible certified as the first plant-based meat available to athletes,” said Peter McGuinness, president and CEO at Impossible Foods. “Americans are more aware than ever about the food they put in their bodies. It’s our responsibility to deliver on delicious, nutrient-dense, high-quality food, like our plant-based beef. This certification is proof that we’re holding ourselves accountable, and that athletes, dietitians and all consumers can feel good about our products.”

NSF Certified for Sport protects athletes from harmful ingredients and athletic banned substances, requiring testing for more than 290 athletic banned substances, along with harmful levels of contaminants like lead and arsenic.

“NSF welcomes Impossible Foods to the Certified for Sport program as the first and only fresh food to reach our highest level of certification for athletes and active consumers,” said David Trosin, senior director of nutrition and wellness at NSF. “NSF is committed to protecting and improving human health worldwide. By meeting our rigorous requirements for Certified for Sport, Impossible Foods is demonstrating its commitment to clean sport as well as quality, safety and good manufacturing processes for its plant-based beef products.”

Impossible’s plant-based beef and burger products will be included in NSF’s online listing of certified products and on the NSF for Sport app.

Sports organizations such as the MLB, NHL, CFL, NFL, PGA, LPGA, CCES, CPSDA, and the Taylor Hooton Foundation all recommend Certified for Sport products.

“Athletes need protein, and we’ve been wanting more access to plant-based proteins like Impossible,” said Becci Roehl, sports dietitian and founding board member of the Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association. “Having their plant-based beef NSF Certified for Sport will be great for nutrition programs across professional sports, especially the MLB. It’s packed with protein, it tastes like meat, and it helps our players diversify their intake. It’ll be a real value for teams.”