Serving Suggestion

Found on all manner of food, this is a small disclaimer at the bottom of the picture of the food, seemingly to serve one of two purposes.
 * First and more common is to protect the company from ridiculous lawsuits from people who want to know where the milk is in their box of corn flakes because "it is on the box".
 * Second are those people who might deserve to be sued, putting pictures of a vast cornucopia of meat and vegetables on the front of a microwave meal consisting of two slices of re-formed beef, freeze dried gravy and two very sad potatoes. In these cases it can serve as shorthand for, "The product will look nothing like this."

Related to Covers Always Lie and Adjacent to This Complete Breakfast. It's also related to TV food commercials, especially fast food commercials: The product you see on screen looks nothing like what you'll get at the store/restaurant.

Justified with mixes and so on, as a picture of the actual powder is not exactly useful for the buyer.


 * Containers of lard that show pictures of chicken. There ain't no chicken in that container. There isn't even any chicken fat in there, unless someone's violating truth in advertising laws. (Lard is 100% pig fat.)
 * Numerous cereals depicting glasses of milk and orange juice and fruit slices, when the fruit is not present in the actual cereal.
 * Steve, Don't Eat It! points out that the picture on a can of huitlacoche "downplayed the visuals by hiding it in a mild-mannered burrito". Huitlacoche is corn with a type of fungus growing in it, which Steve describes as resembling "smokers' lung".
 * In the United States (at least), menus for diners are frequently illustrated with stock images of the various dishes available -- along with a warning that the meal served might not look exactly like the photo accompanying its entry.
 * Non-food examples:
 * Scale model sets tend to have a photo of the finished model in all its glory, but they may depict said model with the shell already painted or in some cases with optional accessories attached; the model kit doesn't typically include paints likely for logistical reasons.
 * Ditto with toys and related playsets, where a doll house may show a couple or so dolls and other props not included in the actual package.