False advertising : Are the Products we buy “Real” ?

I was having a late night craving recently and was lazy to cook anything. So, I ordered a meal via Swiggy. Unknown to me, my order also arrived with a free Jar of Hellmann’s REAL Mayonnaise (Promotional offer I believe).

I had not bought this brand of mayonnaise ever before, so while I was inspecting the Jar, I suddenly noticed that there was an asterisk against the word REAL Mayonnaise. ( Pic Below)

I kept wondering, why is there an asterisk against the brand name REAL Mayonnaise ? So, I started to look around to find an explanation for this. As I turned around the Jar, I found the explanation right at the bottom. ( Pic shared below)

Just in case, people have trouble reading, it says “This is only a brand name/trademark and does not represent its true nature”

Now, this left me troubled !, if the name REAL Mayonnaise does not represent the true nature of the product then what does ?

I then looked at the ingredients. Along with oil, salt and vinegar, I noticed a few items like Thickeners -1142,1450, Preservative -202 , Sequestrant -385. Clearly, the manufacturer has added preservatives and other substances to the mix and therefore it surely can’t be termed REAL in the purest sense.

So should they be allowed to market the product as REAL Mayonnaise and just get away with it by having an asterisk along with the brand name. I do wonder !

Not surprisingly the asterisk is not there on the Hellmann’s website. (Screenshot shared below)

Now, Hellmann’s is not the only brand doing it, there are many brands which have brand names like FRESH , REAL , ORIGINAL etc but get away it by simply adding as asterisk with it.

Maybe, I’m better off making some Mayonnaise at home, so I know what is going into what I’m eating.

Do share if you have noticed this as well with other consumer brands

Thanks for reading!