AEB Hampton Creek campaign deemed ‘inappropriate’ by USDA

The American Egg Board mismanaged its handling of competition represented by Hampton Creek Inc., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Wikimedia Commons, FotoosVanRobin
Wikimedia Commons, FotoosVanRobin

The American Egg Board mishandled its campaign against the industry threat represented by Hampton Creek Inc., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

On October 7, the Associated Press and other media outlets reported that the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service concluded the AEB’s campaign against Hampton Creek was inappropriate. The USDA’s year-long investigation looked into accusations made by the company that the AEB went to great lengths against the San Francisco-based plant-based food company and its “Just Mayo” line of egg-free mayonnaise.

The reports said the AEB joked about having Hampton Creek CEO  Josh Tetrick killed in e-mails, attempted to conspire with the food industry against Hampton Creek, hired a PR firm -- Chicago-based Edelman Inc. -- to generate positive coverage of the egg industry on food blogs and paid for pro-egg advertisements to appear online when people searched for Just Mayo.

“The USDA said it will require training on guidelines for staff at all ‘checkoff’ programs that promote commodities such as eggs, beef and pork as a result,” the Associated Press reported. “The USDA said the egg board’s inappropriate activities violated its guidelines, but not the law specifying the allowable activities for the board.”

In a statement to the press, AEB Chairman Blair Van Zetten said the board did not violate the law. The USDA’s summary of allegations and findings in the investigation can be read here.

Hampton Creek, a standout among start-ups looking to disrupt the food industry, is embroiled in its own controversy. The U.S. Justice Department opened a criminal investigation against the company on the grounds it allegedly hired contractors to purchase its own products in order to inflate sales figures and possibly mislead investors. Hampton Creek has raised more than $220 million since its foundation in 2011, according to Bloomberg.

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