American Egg Board Campaigned Against Just Mayo, Emails Reveal
Weeks after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent
Hampton Creek Foods a letter warning that its Just Mayo is misbranded
because it does not contain eggs, emails obtained through the Freedom
of Information Act reportedly indicate that the American Egg Board
(AEB) and a public relations firm made a concerted effort to remove
Just Mayo from the market. The emails reportedly detail the actions the
group undertook, including a complaint to FDA, an attempt to convince
Whole Foods to stop selling Just Mayo, aid to Unilever in its litigation
against Hampton Creek, and payments to food bloggers who post about
how “real and sustainable foods, like eggs,” fit into their lifestyles. Details
about Unilever’s lawsuit against Hampton Creek appear in Issue 549 of
this Update.
Public health attorney Michele Simon posted the emails on her blog,
alleging that AEB likely broke laws during its attempt to quash Hampton
Creek. “Checkoff programs like the Egg Board are legally required to
stay within the boundaries of advertising, promotion, consumer education,
and research,” she wrote in her post. “Specifically not allowed are
lobbying activities. The statute says that no funds shall ‘be used for the
purpose of influencing government policy or action.’”
Josh Tetrick, head of Hampton Creek, said, “[W]e are calling for a
Congressional investigation into what happened, and we’re optimistic
that Congress takes us up on that. We are talking to leaders on both sides
of the aisle about potentially investigating some of the things that are out
there.”
In response to the allegations, AEB has denied any inappropriate use of
resources. A spokesperson reportedly said, “AEB has never used checkoff
funds for lobbying purposes,” and noted that the emails about blog
sponsorships were from 2012 and unrelated to Hampton Creek. Tetrick
and Simon also asserted that a now-retired U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) official, National Shell Egg Supervisor Roger Glasshoff,
assisted in the campaign by suggesting AEB turn to FDA for help, but
USDA issued a statement indicating that it found Glasshoff’s actions to
be appropriate because he “fielded a call about a regulatory question and
simply referred the inquirer to the correct regulatory authority.” See Inc.,
September 2, 2015; FoodNavigator-USA, September 15, 2015.
Issue 578
