(Bloomberg) -- Impossible Foods Inc. obtained a second food-safety clearance in the European Union, bringing the company closer to selling its plant-based burger in the world’s biggest market for alternative meats.

The European Food Safety Authority’s panel on genetically modified organisms has ruled that soy leghemoglobin, an additive in the Impossible Burger known as “heme,” doesn’t raise safety concerns, according to a filing Friday. The ingredient helps the burger taste and smell like meat and is derived from a GM yeast strain Komagataella phaffii, formerly named Pichia pastoris.

The decision by the EU watchdog clears a final and crucial food-safety hurdle needed for Impossible Foods to enter Europe, where it’s been seeking regulatory approval to sell its burger since late 2019. The Redwood City, California-based company now needs a final approval from the European Commission and the EU member states.

“This week’s positive opinion from the EFSA is an important step toward bringing Impossible products to Europe,” Impossible Foods said in a statement. “We’re excited to continue our work with EU decision makers to bring Impossible Foods products to European consumers.”