Sometimes, semantics can make a difference.

Hampton Creek, a food company that makes plant-based egg substitutes, said on Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration had reversed course and would allow it to continue using the name Just Mayo for an eggless spread that has come under attack from large food companies and the trade association for egg producers.

Federal standards require that any product called mayonnaise contain eggs, which neither Just Mayo nor Just Mayo Sriracha, a derivative product, do. Initially, the F.D.A., which oversees food labeling, had warned Hampton Creek in August that the name Just Mayo and the product’s logo, an egg “cracked” by a young pea plant, might mislead consumers into thinking that the product contained actual eggs.

Now, the agency has decided that Hampton Creek can keep the Just Mayo name and its logo — as long as it makes changes in its label. The company will use bigger type on the front of the label for the list of product attributes like “egg-free.” And, the label will define the word “just” in the brand name to mean “guided by reason, justice and fairness” instead of suggesting that it was an exact replica of mayonnaise.

The agency’s original decision had come after Unilever, the giant food company that produces and markets Hellmann’s mayonnaise (known as Best Foods mayonnaise west of the Rockies) sued Hampton Creek. Unilever dropped the suit just weeks after filing it — but months later, the F.D.A. raised similar issues.