Mayonnaise is oil, egg yolks, and an acid (typically vinegar or lemon juice). If you don't have these things, it's not mayonnaise.<p>It seems like it'd be pretty easy for them to call it "Vegan Mayo," where folks are assuming there's a major substitute for a core ingredient. "Just Mayo," on the other hand, seems to claim the opposite.<p>It's still pretty whiny for Hellmann's/Best Foods/Unilever/Whomever to file the lawsuit, but that doesn't mean they're wrong.
So it's called "Just Mayo," mayonnaise being a food product that contains eggs by definition, and has a picture of an egg on its label. But it isn't mayonnaise and doesn't contain eggs. Maybe the hipster irony is just lost on me.
Upvoted for "big mayo" reference, but this is a pretty obvious case of severe editorial slant.<p>> Now it’s true that FDA’s "standard of identity" (i.e., definition) for mayonnaise includes eggs; well specifically, "egg yolk-containing ingredients"<p>Okay. Case closed. It's not Mayo.
I think the biggest weakness in the complaint is that they have to argue that the shorthand "mayo" is the same as the protected term "mayonnaise," and is controlled by the same rules. The fact that they use dictionary definitions to make that case, rather than federal code, is rather telling.<p>Consider that "chocolaty" is considered a valid workaround for "chocolate", but the dictionary for "chocolaty" says "made of or like chocolate."
Shelf stable mayo is disgusting. Make it at home and compare. None of these companies should be able to call their product mayo. Sure they meet the technical definition of mayo, having at least the ingredients that whafro lists, but they also contain a bunch of other crap that significantly alters the texture and flavor. Just Mayo does seem to be even further from real mayo than most of the competition.<p>I don't see what the big hubub is about. Hellman can pursue all three strategies to win at the same time. Innovate, market, AND sue! Not to defend the system but it's the one we have and I don't blame them for taking advantage of it.
I'm getting a 500 Internal Service Error<p><a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.eatdrinkpolitics.com/2014/11/09/big-mayo-files-frivolous-lawsuit-against-eggless-competitor/" rel="nofollow">https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http:/...</a>
The Pot calling the kettle black.<p>Traditional Mayonnaise used olive oil, most companies use soybean oil now for it's preservative properties and low price. I can't buy a 100% olive oil mayo, but Hellman's gets to cry about eggs?