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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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No. Mayonnaise, by definition, contains oil and eggs. However, Hellmann's Plant Based Dressing & Sandwich Spread is a certified vegan alternative to mayonnaise. This vegan option is made with 100% Canadian Canola oil – but without eggs – for an amazing wholesome taste.
Yes, all our Hellmann’s mayonnaises are made with 100% free-run eggs.
We recommend you review the ingredient labels on any of products you are interested in since we also offer Vegan products within our range of mayo style dressings & spreads. One example is Hellmann's Plant Based Dressing & Sandwich Spread, which is plant-based, contains no animal products (made without eggs), and is certified Vegan by Vegan Action.
Yes. Hellmann's products are made with ingredients that naturally do not contain gluten.
Look for a gluten-free label on many of our products, including our Real Mayonnaise, as well as Hellmann’s Plant Based. Hellmann’s products with this label are made with ingredients that do not contain gluten and have not come in contact with gluten during processing.
Sustainable sourcing is at the root of agricultural resilience and a more stable and efficient food supply. Over the last 15 years, Unilever has been working with suppliers and farmers to buy sustainably grown crops in accordance with Unilever’s “Sustainable Agriculture code” (SAC) which has been replaced in 2024 by Unilever’s “Sustainable Agriculture Principles” (SAP). Today, Unilever covers 12 key crops: Cocoa, Vanilla, Tea, Paper & Board, Palm Oil, Coconut oil, Dairy, Vegetables & Herbs, Soy oil, Cereals, Rapeseed, Cereals & Starches (including Wheat, Corn, Rice etc) with this.
In 2024, 79% of our 12 key crops were sourced sustainably, and we’re committed to reach 95% volume of key crops to be verified as sustainably sourced by 2030.
In 2024, we raised the benchmark with the release of our updated Sustainable Agricultural Principles (SAP) (PDF 4.29 MB), which underpin our programme. As set out in the SAP, we verify our key crops as sustainable using a range of widely recognised benchmarked certification programmes and standards.
Detailed description of Sustainable Agriculture Principles (SAP):
Unilever's commitment is to have 95% volume of key crops externally verified as sustainably sourced by 2030. This will be achieved through alignment with the Sustainable Agriculture Principles via accepted third-party standards.
The Sustainable Agriculture Principles are a collection of good practices intended to codify important aspects of sustainability in farming, plantation, and supply chain management. Unilever uses these principles to assess and benchmark third-party agricultural standards, codes, assessments, and programmes to ensure they align with Unilever's commitments to sustainable, responsible, and transparent production. Suppliers who wish to supply Unilever with sustainably sourced raw materials are now required to adopt and comply with one of the third-party standards that has been benchmarked and accepted against the SAP.
The SAP is structured around six core Sustainable Agriculture Principles to guide suppliers in ensuring integrity and legal compliance, protecting and regenerating nature, driving climate action and building resilience, respecting human rights and promoting positive social impact, ensuring good animal welfare (where applicable), and committing to continuous improvement in agricultural practices. In depth:
1. Ensure integrity through legal compliance, transparency and responsible business practices. This principle covers topics like legal compliance, responsible business conduct, data protection, traceability, and transparency.
2. Protect and regenerate nature. This principle focuses on trying to maintain and regenerate soil health, supporting appropriate land use (including avoiding deforestation and conversion), conserving water resources, reducing waste, and preventing pollution. It also addresses protecting and regenerating nature and biodiversity.
3. Drive climate action and build climate resilience and adaptation. This principle encourages practices that minimize greenhouse gases, improve energy efficiency, and build climate resilience and adaptation within the supply chain.
4. Respect and promote human rights and drive positive social impact. This principle covers respecting human rights, improving working conditions, contributing to livelihoods, and operating in a safe and healthy environment in line with international standards.
5. Ensure good animal welfare and promote the health of livestock. This principle, relevant for suppliers of livestock-related goods, aims to safeguard animal welfare by upholding principles like the Five Freedoms, focusing on safe housing, healthy feed, animal health, appropriate breeding, and respecting animal freedoms.
6. Commit to and support a process of continuous improvement. This principle underlies all others and promotes a commitment to continuous improvement in sustainable agricultural practices, including implementing improvement plans, measuring data, reporting transparently, setting commitments, and embracing technological innovations.
For full details on these Principles, please refer to our Sustainable Agriculture Principles pages, which outline the required and recommended practices: https://www.unilever.com/files/unilever-sustainable-agricultural-principles-2024.pdf
Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise will never contain lactose/dairy. However, our flavour range products' ingredients can vary so ingredient labels should be read and checked before purchase.
It is always best to check with your physician before making any changes to your diet. That being said, Hellmann’s mayonnaise uses free-run eggs that are pasteurized, and pasteurization is a process that reduces microbial load.
All Hellmann’s labels adhere to Health Canada’s regulations on declaring ingredients and allergens. But we strongly recommend that those with allergies check the ingredients list every time they purchase or before consuming.
All of Hellmann’s facilities have allergen management programs in place to avoid cross-contamination of allergens between products. We do not operate allergen-free manufacturing sites.
Our Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise is proudly crafted in Ontario. You might even say our main ingredient is Canada! We source our free-run eggs from farms in Quebec and Ontario, and 100% of our canola from farms in the Prairies.
Canola oil is a plant-based oil that when consumed in moderation can be part of a balanced and healthy diet. Not only is there no cholesterol in canola oil, it also contains good fats such as polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.
According to the Canola Council of Canada, only one protein has been modified in the canola plant to make it more tolerant to herbicides, and this protein is removed during processing.
Before you’re ready to open and enjoy your Hellmann’s mayonnaise, keep it in a cool, dry place. Once opened, all Hellmann’s products should be refrigerated.
No. Freezing mayonnaise can change its consistency, texture and thickness, and will likely cause separation. To ensure a creamy texture with every bite, we do not recommend freezing Hellmann’s mayonnaise.
All of our products include a ‘best when used by’ date which assures optimum quality and freshness. For example, if you see 20240702 on your Hellmann’s jar, it should be enjoyed by July 2, 2024. However, please keep in mind that this may be changing in the future due to Health Canada's format revisions.
All the manufacturing codes on our Hellmann’s mayonnaise bottles and jars follow the same format, including the ‘best if used by’ date: YYYYMMDD/plant code/line number/time stamp.
For example, you might see: 20210105MU05 15:33. This signifies that this jar of Hellmann’s mayonnaise has a best if used by date of January 5, 2021 and was made in plant code MU on line 05 at 3:33 pm.
No, there have been no recent changes made to Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise recipe.