Hellmann’s mayonnaise discontinued in South Africa, not globally

CLAIM: Hellmann’s mayonnaise is discontinuing the product globally due to high inflationary import costs.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The popular condiment brand is only discontinuing sales of the mayonnaise in South Africa, according to a spokesperson for the brand. The confusion started when social media users misinterpreted a since-deleted post about the change on Hellmanns’ South Africa Facebook page, which didn’t specify the country.

THE FACTS: Social media users on Tuesday lamented what they thought was the latest loss to soaring egg costs and inflation: their favorite brand of mayonnaise.

A Facebook post appearing to be from Hellmanns’ page emerged late Monday announcing that the product would be saying “goodbye.”

“It’s hard to say goodbye to delicious Hellmann’s Mayonnaise. But due to high inflationary import costs, we will regretfully be discontinuing Hellmann’s until further notice,” the post stated, alongside an image of a jumbo jar of mayo. “A big thanks to our loyal fans for all the mayo love over the years,”

“NO MORE HELLMANN’S MAYO !??” wrote one stunned Facebook user who shared a screenshot of the supposed Hellmann’s post.

“War,” wrote a Twitter user who shared the same image. And “The cost of eggs is the most likely culprit,” commented another.

However, the post was originally published from the brand’s account specifically for South Africa. That page appeared to have been taken down as of Tuesday. But not before social media users began to circulate screenshots of the post, which failed to specify that the product would only be discontinued in that country. A copy of the page showing the post remained cached online and viewable briefly Tuesday.

The brand’s Instagram page for South Africa also posted the same information on Monday, however that post’s caption was updated to specify that it only applied to South Africa.

“It’s hard to say goodbye to delicious Hellmann’s Mayonnaise. But, due to high inflationary import costs, we will regretfully be discontinuing Hellmann’s in South Africa until further notice,” the post stated.

Tara Loveland, a spokesperson for the brand, confirmed to The Associated Press that Hellmann’s was being pulled from South Africa, but would remain on shelves in North America and beyond.

“There’s no change to Hellmann’s mayonnaise in the U.S., Canada. and other countries across the globe,” Loveland wrote in an email. “It is true, however, that Hellmann’s will not be available for sale in South Africa until further notice due to increased import costs.”

Following the confusion, Hellmann’s main Twitter account tweeted a statement early Wednesday clarifying that for most customers, it wasn’t going anywhere.

“Mayo fam, fear not… Hellmann’s mayo is widely available in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world, just sadly not in South Africa until further notice,” the tweet said.

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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.