The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to Hampton Creek Foods stating that the company is in violation of section 403 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with its Just Mayo eggless spread.
“The use of the term ‘mayo’ in the product names and the image of an egg may be misleading to consumers because it may lead them to believe that the products are the standardized food, mayonnaise,” the FDA wrote in the warning letter. “The use of the term ‘Just’ together with ‘Mayo’ reinforces the impression that the products are real mayonnaise by suggesting that they are ‘all mayonnaise’ or ‘nothing but’ mayonnaise.”
The letter goes on to state that the company’s Just Mayo and Just Mayo Sriracha do not meet the definition of the standard for mayonnaise because neither product contains eggs. The FDA’s definition for the condiment, which was set in 1957, says that it must include “egg yolk-containing ingredients.” The letter also states that the Hampton Creek products contain additional ingredients that are not permitted by the standard of identity for mayonnaise, such as modified food starch.
Last year, Unilever, maker of Hellmann’s mayo, sued Hampton Creek, arguing the company was misleading consumers because Just Mayo was not “exactly, precisely, only, and simply mayonnaise.” Kraft Foods’ Miracle Whip, for example, is technically a salad dressing and therefore can’t call itself mayonnaise. In December 2014, Unilever withdrew its lawsuit, leaving it up to the FDA to take action.
The FDA has also said the company’s cholesterol-free claim on Just Mayo isn’t legitimate because the food contains too much fat (“more than 13 grams of total fat per 50 grams”) to make such an assertion. Hampton Creek has 15 days to respond to the FDA’s recent warning letter.
