Thinking of preserving your health with a low-fat mayonnaise? It could be the opposite, warns the Foodwatch association …
Summer marks the return of quick meals, picnics and other barbecues. What is the essential ingredient in these feasts? Consensual and greedy, it’s mayonnaise, of course! But if you are a fan of lean mayo, it seems you are making a mistake. It is in any case the alert of theFoodwatch association, non-profit organisation “who is fighting for safe, healthy and affordable food for all”. In June 2021, she launched a petition to major brands and directors of food brands that produce mayonnaise. And at the same time, she warns consumers: light mayonnaise is a huge scam. Supporting investigation: the association bought the mayonnaise and checked the price changes on ten different ‘drives’ for each product. “This investigation does not claim to be exhaustive” precise their site.
Mayo … in water
This is a recurring reason for food scandals: in low-fat products, what is fat replaced? Very often, with sugar and / or salt and sometimes with water. In short, while they are not necessarily worse for your health than the product they are replacing, they present a scam at best, because they are bloated and sold for more. The brands of mayo studied are thus “lengthened with water but above all up to 4 times sweeter and up to 2 times saltier than their classic versions”, Foodwatch notes.
In addition, the Nutri-score, a benchmark for evaluating the nutritional quality of a product, does not move one iota between a low-fat mayonnaise and its original cousin. Foodwatch therefore asks companies to change the product recipe “so that the ‘light’ mayonnaise does not contain more sugar and salt than its traditional equivalent or to remove the words ‘low’ or ‘light’ at the front of the package”. But also, to clearly justify to consumers the price difference between light / light and classic mayonnaise, “while the noble ingredients of the recipe are in less quantity.” Until then, to accompany your eggs / fries / insert here your favorite dish, it is better to favor a classic or homemade mayo.