Unilever has withdrawn the lawsuit against Hampton Creek in which it accused the US company of deceiving consumers with its egg-free Just Mayo.

The Hellmann’s maker started the legal action in October but yesterday (18 December) announced the end of the suit.

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“Unilever has decided to withdraw its lawsuit against Hampton Creek so that Hampton Creek can address its label directly with industry groups and appropriate regulatory authorities,” Mike Faherty, vice president for foods at Unilever North America, said. “We applaud Hampton Creek’s commitment to innovation and its inspired corporate purpose. We share a vision with Hampton Creek of a more sustainable world. It is for these reasons that we believe Hampton Creek will take the appropriate steps in labelling its products going forward.”

In the lawsuit, filed at the United States District Court of New Jersey, Unilever had claimed under “federal regulations, common dictionary definitions – and as consumers understand it – mayonnaise or mayo is a product that contains eggs”. It added Just Mayo “does not perform like real mayonnaise” nor does it “taste of real mayonnaise” – and said the brand was “stealing market share from Hellmann’s”.

In response to Unilever’s decision to pull the legal action, Hampton Creek founder and CEO Josh Tetrick said in a statement provided to just-food: “Hampton Creek was founded to open our eyes to the problems the world faces. This moment has only validated why.”

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Hampton Creek did not immediately respond to questions over whether it would make changes to its labels.

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