Dive Brief:
- Mayonnaise has been at the center of controversy in both the U.S. and abroad recently, as the U.S.'s most popular condiment, with $2 billion in annual sales, fuels discussions about what mayonnaise should be allowed to contain.
- In Belgium, food producers are suggesting a lower-fat version of mayo that would enable them to compete in the overall European market and offer a healthier version. However, that is an abomination to chefs, consumer groups, and small producers, some of whom say this is merely an attempt to manufacture the condiment more cheaply rather than appeal to consumers' health concerns.
- Back in the U.S., Hampton Creek's Just Mayo, made with Canadian yellow peas as an egg alternative, has come under fire as to whether the product can actually call itself mayonnaise.
Dive Insight:
Hampton Creek was first targeted by Unilever, which filed and later dropped a lawsuit last year saying that Hampton Creek could not call itself mayonnaise under the standard definition, which requires that the product contain eggs. The FDA sent a warning letter to the company last month demanding it remove the word mayonnaise and the egg image from Just Mayo's label.
In response, Hampton Creek CEO Josh Tetrick told Food Dive, "We feel great about keeping our name, and I’m really optimistic that the FDA’s going to see it that way too."
Speaking with The Wall Street Journal, Tetrick said that he would love for the company to begin selling Just Mayo in Belgium as well, possibly in the next year or two. "One filter for us is where people eat a lot of mayonnaise, and Belgium is right up there at the top of the list," he said.