Sandwich spread: salty fat that helps vegetables count

Fat-free dressing on a salad throws away most of the carotenoids the vegetables offer. In a randomized crossover trial in just 7 adults eating identical salads, fat-free dressing gave essentially no carotenoid absorption, and full-fat dressing with 28 g canola oil gave substantially more than a reduced-fat one with 6 g. A mayonnaise base does the same job. In 18 healthy adults, broccoli eaten with mayonnaise raised blood lutein, zeaxanthin and beta-carotene more than plain broccoli over 6 hours. In 9 men, carrot with mayonnaise beat both plain carrot and carrot juice for blood beta-carotene. Both were single-meal tests with plain mayonnaise rather than spread with relish. The cost sits in the jar. One tablespoon (15 g) of sandwich spread in the USDA survey database has about 58 calories, 5.1 g fat, 2.3 g sugars and 150 mg sodium. That comes from one recipe, sandwich spread with chopped pickle, and the jar in your hand may differ.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Under the US standard of identity, mayonnaise must be made with vegetable oil, an acidifying ingredient and one or more egg yolk-containing ingredients, such as liquid, frozen or dried egg yolks or whole eggs. — foods sold in the US as mayonnaise Evidence E source
  Mayonnaise must contain one or more egg yolk-containing ingredients (liquid, frozen or dried egg yolks or whole eggs)
• USDA's survey database files sandwich spread in its Mayonnaise category and builds it entirely from one recipe, sandwich spread with chopped pickle, listing 76 mg of cholesterol per 3.5 oz (100 g). — USDA FNDDS 2021-2023 food code 81302040 Sandwich spread (FDC 2710172) (n = one FNDDS survey food) Evidence E source
  WWEIA category Mayonnaise; built 100 percent from SR ingredient 4030 Sandwich spread, with chopped pickle, regular, unspecified oils; cholesterol 76 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g)
• Sandwich spread carries 34 g fat, 15 g sugars and 1,000 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g), so one tablespoon adds about 150 mg sodium. — US survey food composition record Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: 34 g fat (5.1 g saturated), 22.4 g carbohydrate, 15.18 g sugars, 1000 mg sodium; per tablespoon 5.1 g fat, 2.3 g sugars, 150 mg sodium

What a real portion looks like

• One tablespoon of sandwich spread (15 g) provides about 58 calories in the USDA survey database. — US survey food composition record Evidence E source
  389 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g); 58.4 calories per tablespoon (15 g)

What your body absorbs

• In 12 women eating salads with dressings of 0 to 32 g soybean oil, carotenoid and vitamin K absorption rose with oil dose and peaked at 32 g, but some women barely responded. — Women eating vegetable salads with five dressing doses (n = 12) Evidence B source
  Absorption highest with 32 g oil (P<0.002); linear dose response for alpha-carotene, lycopene, phylloquinone; wide individual variation
• In 18 healthy adults, broccoli eaten with mayonnaise raised blood lutein/zeaxanthin and beta-carotene more than plain broccoli over 6 hours. — Healthy subjects, broccoli meal loading test (n = 18) Evidence B source
  Higher IAUC for lutein/zeaxanthin and beta-carotene after mayonnaise meal vs control; oil meal not different
• In 9 men, carrot eaten with mayonnaise raised blood beta-carotene more than plain carrot or carrot juice over 8 hours. — Adult males, single carrot-based meals in random order (n = 9) Evidence B source
  Higher incremental AUC of serum beta-carotene after carrot with mayonnaise vs carrot or juice

What cooking and storage change

• FDA warns that fresh eggs, even clean and uncracked, may carry Salmonella. Children, older adults, pregnant women and people with weakened immunity are at greater risk of severe illness. For dishes served with raw or undercooked egg, such as Caesar dressing, FDA advises pasteurized eggs or egg products. — consumers preparing dishes with raw or undercooked eggs; children, older adults, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems at greater risk Evidence E source
  Uncracked fresh eggs may carry Salmonella; use pasteurized shell eggs or egg products for dishes served with raw or undercooked egg

What it does to your health

• In a double-blind crossover trial, 20 g a day of soybean-oil mayonnaise for 4 weeks lowered LDL cholesterol by 6.6 mg/dL (0.17 mmol/L) versus palm-olein mayonnaise. — Adult volunteers, 20 g/day mayonnaise for 4 weeks each arm Evidence B source
  TC -0.25 mmol/L, LDL-C -6.6 mg/dL (-0.17 mmol/L), HDL-C -4.6 mg/dL (-0.12 mmol/L) vs palm olein mayonnaise
• In 5,824 Danish adults, a traditional diet pattern rich in high-fat sandwich spreads predicted a yearly 0.083 mmol/L rise in 2-hour glucose among those with impaired glucose tolerance. — Nondiabetic Danish adults aged 30-60, 5 years (n = 5824) Evidence C source
  +0.083 mmol/L per year in 2h-PG per 1 SD traditional score (isolated IGT, P<0.0001)

Safety, limits and interactions

• FDA lists eggs among the nine major food allergens in the United States, and under FALCPA a food containing one must be labeled with the name of the allergen source. — US consumers with food allergy Evidence E source
  Eggs listed among the nine major food allergens; foods containing a major food allergen must be labeled with the name of the allergen source

What people believe that the data does not support

• In 7 adults, salads with fat-free dressing gave almost no carotenoid absorption, while reduced-fat (6 g) and full-fat (28 g oil) dressings gave stepwise more. — Adults eating identical vegetable salads with 0, 6 or 28 g canola oil dressing (n = 7) Evidence B source
  Negligible absorption with fat-free; higher with 6 g (P<0.04) and higher still with 28 g (P<0.02)

Who this works differently for

• Among 152 preschoolers, bitter-sensitive children ate 80% more broccoli when it came with a dressing dip than plain. — Predominately Hispanic Head Start preschoolers, 7 weeks (n = 152) Evidence C source
  +80% broccoli intake with dressing among bitter-sensitive children (P<0.001); no effect in bitter-insensitive
• In 4,504 adults in northern Norway, a bread and sandwich spreads diet pattern was linked to male sex, lower education and smoking. — Adults aged 40-69 in SAMINOR 2 survey (n = 4504) Evidence C source
  Direction only: male gender, low education, smoking associated with the pattern

The bottom line

Per 100 g the spread is 34 g fat, 15 g sugars and 1,000 mg sodium. The oil inside changes the blood fats a little. In a double-blind crossover trial, 20 g a day of soybean oil mayonnaise for 4 weeks lowered LDL cholesterol by 6.6 mg/dL (0.17 mmol/L) and HDL by 4.6 mg/dL (0.12 mmol/L) compared with a palm olein mayonnaise. That compared two mayonnaises, never mayonnaise against none, and the abstract does not give the number of volunteers. The longer-term data are about whole eating patterns. In 5,824 nondiabetic Danish adults followed for 5 years, a higher score on a traditional diet pattern predicted a yearly rise of 0.083 mmol/L in 2 hour blood glucose among those with impaired glucose tolerance. That describes the pattern as a whole, and the spread alone was not measured. In 4,504 adults in northern Norway, a bread and sandwich spreads pattern was more common in men, people with less education and smokers. More oil kept helping across the doses tested. In 12 women eating salads with 0 to 32 g soybean oil, absorption of carotenoids and fat-soluble vitamins was highest at 32 g, the largest dose, though some women barely responded. Children may eat more vegetables with a dip. Among 152 mostly Hispanic preschoolers, the bitter-sensitive ones ate 80 percent more broccoli served with dressing than plain, in a quasi-experimental classroom study. The dip was a dressing, not sandwich spread. Expect sandwich spread to contain egg unless the label says otherwise. USDA files it in its Mayonnaise category, at 76 mg of cholesterol per 3.5 oz (100 g), and US mayonnaise must by law contain egg yolk or whole egg. Sandwich spread has no legal definition of its own, so the label of the jar decides. FDA lists eggs among the nine major food allergens, and a food containing one must name it on the label. If you make a mayonnaise-style spread at home with raw egg, FDA warns that even clean, uncracked fresh eggs may carry Salmonella. Children, older adults, pregnant women and people with weakened immunity are at greater risk of severe illness, and FDA advises pasteurized eggs or egg products for dishes served with raw or undercooked egg. We have no card on sandwich spread and medicines. If you are watching sodium, the 150 mg per tablespoon is the number to count.

Sources

1. hf2-sspr-2 · federal regulation
   Mayonnaise is the emulsified semisolid food prepared from vegetable oil(s), one or both of the acidifying ingredients specified in paragraph (b) of this section, and one or more of the egg yolk-containing ingredients specified in paragraph (c) of this section. ... Liquid egg yolks, frozen egg yolks, dried egg yolks, liquid whole eggs, frozen whole eggs, dried whole eggs
   US Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 169.140 Mayonnaise (eCFR, current) · checked 2026-10-08
2. hf2-sspr-3 · food composition table metadata
   FDC 2710172 · description Sandwich spread · foodCode 81302040 · dataType Survey (FNDDS) · wweiaFoodCategory 3307892 Mayonnaise · inputFoods: ingredientCode 4030 Sandwich spread, with chopped pickle, regular, unspecified oils, ingredientWeight 100 · Cholesterol 76.0
   USDA FoodData Central, FNDDS 2021-2023 food code 81302040 Sandwich spread (FDC 2710172) · checked 2026-10-08
3. sspr-daily-r5-02 · Food composition dataset
   FNDDS 81302040 Sandwich spread (fdc 2710172): Total lipid (fat) 34 g per 100 g (1 tablespoon 15 g 5.1 g); Fatty acids, total saturated 5.1 g; Carbohydrate, by difference 22.4 g; Total Sugars 15.18 g (2.3 g); Sodium, Na 1000 mg (150.0 mg)
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 81302040 Sandwich spread (FDC 2710172) · checked 2026-10-01
4. sspr-daily-r5-01 · Food composition dataset
   FNDDS 81302040 Sandwich spread (fdc 2710172): Energy 389 kcal per 100 g; 1 tablespoon 15 g 58.4 kcal; 1 cup 245 g 953.0 kcal
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 81302040 Sandwich spread (FDC 2710172) · checked 2026-10-01
5. sspr-daily-r5-03 · RCT
   Absorption of all carotenoids and fat-soluble vitamins was highest with 32 g oil (P < 0.002).
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2017 · checked 2026-10-01
6. sspr-daily-r5-05 · RCT
   The incremental areas under the curves (IAUCs) of serum lutein/zeaxanthin and beta-carotene concentrations were higher after the MS meal than after the CON meal.
   J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo), 2009 · checked 2026-10-01
7. sspr-daily-r5-06 · RCT
   The incremental areas under the curves of serum β-carotene concentration were higher following MS than following both CON and JU.
   J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo), 2011 · checked 2026-10-01
8. hf2-sspr-4 · agency advice
   Fresh eggs, even those with clean, uncracked shells, may contain bacteria called Salmonella that can cause foodborne illness, often called “food poisoning.” ... Certain people are at greater risk for severe illness and include children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems (such as transplant patients and individuals with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and diabetes). ... For recipes that call for eggs that are raw or undercooked when the dish is served — like Caesar salad dressing and homemade ice cream — use either shell eggs that have been treated to destroy Salmonella, by pasteurization or another approved method, or pasteurized egg products.
   US FDA, What You Need to Know About Egg Safety · checked 2026-10-08
9. sspr-daily-r5-07 · RCT
   Treatments resulted in significant reductions in TC (diff = -0.25 mmol/L; P = 0.001), LDL-C (diff = -0.17 mmol/L; P = 0.016) and HDL-C (diff = -0.12 mmol/L; P < 0.001) in SB-mayo compared to PO-mayo
   Lipids Health Dis, 2016 · checked 2026-10-01
10. sspr-daily-r5-09 · Cohort
    For individuals with isolated impaired glucose tolerance, a higher traditional score (of 1 SD) predicted an annual increase in 2h-PG of 0.083 mmol/L (P < 0.0001).
    J Nutr, 2009 · checked 2026-10-01
11. hf2-sspr-1 · agency advice
    The major food allergens are milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame. ... FALCPA requires that foods or ingredients that contain a "major food allergen" be specifically labeled with the name of the allergen source.
    US FDA, Food Allergies: What You Need to Know · checked 2026-10-08
12. sspr-daily-r5-04 · RCT
    Essentially no absorption of carotenoids was observed when salads with fat-free salad dressing were consumed. A substantially greater absorption of carotenoids was observed when salads were consumed with full-fat than with reduced-fat salad dressing.
    Am J Clin Nutr, 2004 · checked 2026-10-01
13. sspr-daily-r5-08 · Quasi-experimental
    Bitter-sensitive children, however, ate 80% more broccoli with dressing than when served plain (P<0.001)
    J Acad Nutr Diet, 2012 · checked 2026-10-01
14. sspr-daily-r5-10 · Cross-sectional
    Male gender, low education level, and smoking were associated with the 'bread and sandwich spreads' pattern.
    BMC Public Health, 2019 · checked 2026-10-01