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Consumers during the age of mass food production in the 1900s lobbied against artificial foods being sold alongside 'normal' food and demanded such food be distinctly labeled; margarine, for example, received a push to be dyed pink so consumers would not confuse it for actual butter, and for a while it was illegal in some places to sell margarine that was dyed butter-yellow (it's naturally white). Company lobbyists learned using Lite Creme was an easy escape, as no one wanted an ominous 'artificial' label on their product. Official nutritional labels on products are ''somewhat'' more informative, though overly technical writing can obscure this for the same reasons. Ingredients being listed in decreasing order does not specify actual amounts, nor does the use of several names to indicate variations on essentially the same ingredient.
Note
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{{examples}}
== Advertising ==
* At one time, "Lite" had no meaning and could be legally used on packages of lard. "Light" often referred solely to color, and not caloric content. Consumer attention paid to this term, though, has resulted in changes to marketing and (in 1993) to [http://www.fda.gov/fdac/special/foodlabel/lite.html the relevant FDA regulations]
* "Light" olive oil still retains its label, and it still has the same caloric content as any other kind of oil—lots, since it's a type of fat. The term refers to its taste: it has a more mild flavour.
* In regards to food, government regulations prevent using the word "cream" when the product contains none. "Creme" is used whenever the impression of a creamy texture or flavor is desired, but the product in question contains no actual cream or, usually, dairy product (and in some cases, isn't even edible). Creme snack cakes usually contain long-lasting vegetable shortening, giving them a potentially long shelf life
* "Creme soda" has a slightly different origin, as it is named after the ''ice cream'' traditionally added to the original drink.
** There is historical precedent for using "creme" (e.g., creme de cassis) or "cream" (cream-style corn, once known as "creamed corn") in reference to nondairy foods that have a more-or-less creamy texture.
* Probably the best known indicator of a lack of any actual food product is the term "Cheez."
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** The terms for "cane" sugar aren't law: Cane sugar and cane syrup could be unprocessed, leaving in the molasses and its nutrients (not to mention a lot of flavor) or it could be pure sucrose ala table sugar derived from sugar cane rather than sugar beets.
* "Pear juice extract" and "grape juice extract" are two of the biggest culprits here. In most cases, they just mean "no sucrose," allowing them to claim that there's no sugar while using a slightly different type of sugar instead. Conversely, some companies will take great pains to point out that they ''only'' use real sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup.
** Namely, they use
* Pet food suffers the same problem, where aside from the organization of the ingredient list the qualifiers are regulated but not generally known to the public; "Beef", "Beef Dinner", "Chicken and Beef", "Beef-flavored" all designate an increasingly smaller amount of actual beef.
* On the human food side of things, "Ham", "Ham in natural juices", "Ham, water added", and "Ham and water product" have connotations of less ham, in that order.
* Also, any sort of "meat byproducts" is generally bad news. By-products means skin, organs and bone meal; feathers and beaks don't make it that far into the process. Your pet is likely to not give two shits, because they like that stuff just as much as muscle
* If the food in question has chemicals in it, but the chemicals were extracted from naturally occurring plants or fruits or what have you, that food can be marketed as "[[All-Natural Snake Oil|All natural]]". If the food contains ''the exact same chemicals'', but the chemicals were built from scratch, it's artificial now. As one food chemist put it, "'All natural' just means 'we did this inefficiently'".
** Sometimes those ''exact same chemicals'' are only members of the ''exact same chemical family'', where even the natural versions have numerous variations. The ''important'' parts of each molecule may be the same, but could a few seemingly minor chemical bonds in unimportant places have unexpected consequences? If it hasn't (yet) been proven harmful, it must be safe... right?
* "Natural flavors" rarely seems to specify ''which'' flavors. For example, 7-Up currently touts their product as using only natural flavors... and the side of the can also specifies it contains no juice, leading one to wonder exactly what "natural" product is being used to flavor the soda if it's not lime and lemon juice.<br /><br />In many cases, there's no citrus juice in a citrus-flavored food item because the citrus oil (which comes from the rind, rather than the flesh) is a more effective flavoring agent. Also, watch word placement -- while "natural flavor" denotes a flavor that is natural, "natural lemon flavor", for example, denotes a natural flavor that tastes "like lemons" but may not necessarily have ever ''been'' lemons.<br /><br />Several members of the mint and sage families have strong citrus components. Along with a history of enhancing lemonades and teas, it's possible that such herbs have been used as nondescript "natural flavors".▼
* "Natural flavors" rarely seems to specify ''which'' flavors. For example, 7-Up currently touts their product as using only natural flavors... and the side of the can also specifies it contains no juice, leading one to wonder exactly what "natural" product is being used to flavor the soda if it's not lime and lemon juice.
* The flavoring Vanilla is derived from orchids in the genus ''Vanilla'' native to Mexico. It contains a mixture of several hundred different compounds in addition to vanillin. Vanillin is the major flavor that you can taste from Vanilla. However, if you create vanillin through chemical synthesis, it is labeled an artificial flavor.<br /><br />By the way, a lot of "artificial" vanilla extract (especially from Mexico, interestingly enough) is actually "extracted" from ''wood'' as a byproduct of paper making. The chemical they're extracting from the wood is the same as one of the chemicals they extract from vanilla orchids, so don't panic. Of course, the real stuff tastes a lot better.<br /><br />There's also whole, grated vanilla pods, which one might imagine to be ''very'' difficult to synthesize in the lab.▼
▲**
* Another common one is "(X) flavour" as in "chocolate-flavour" or "banana-flavour". Something described as "chocolate flavour" likely contains no actual chocolate and may not taste anything like chocolate at all. It's probably the right colour, though.<br /><br />Case in point: "Strawberry" flavor -- such as that used in Strawberry Yoo-Hoo -- rarely tastes anything like real strawberries. Similarly, "Watermelon Flavor" rarely tastes like real watermelon. And "Peach Flavor"... urgh. The point here is that rather than using real strawberries, the strongest of the thousands of chemicals which give them their flavour -- possibly only one or two -- are isolated or synthesised to give the flavouring agent.▼
** Several members of the mint and sage families have strong citrus components. Along with a history of enhancing lemonades and teas, it's possible that such herbs have been used as nondescript "natural flavors".
* The flavoring Vanilla is derived from orchids in the genus ''Vanilla'' native to Mexico. It contains a mixture of several hundred different compounds in addition to vanillin. Vanillin is the major flavor that you can taste from Vanilla. However, if you create vanillin through chemical synthesis, it is labeled an artificial flavor.
▲**
** There's also whole, grated vanilla pods, which one might imagine to be ''very'' difficult to synthesize in the lab.
* Another common one is "(X) flavour" as in "chocolate-flavour" or "banana-flavour". Something described as "chocolate flavour" likely contains no actual chocolate and may not taste anything like chocolate at all. It's probably the right colour, though.
▲**
** That's exactly how it is. More realistic artificial flavorings are complex blends of various chemicals that should be carefully balanced to give a proper representation of the taste and aroma profiles of a real deal. Flavor chemists that create them are not unlike perfume makers, and they should have not only a good chemical knowledge, but also well-trained senses of taste and smell, or employ a specialist tasters. Cheaper flavorings, on the other hand, use one or two chemicals that give something broadly similar to the intended product (sometimes ''[[In Name Only|very broadly]]'') and call it a day. Strawberry flavor is notorious for being a very complex blend of various tastes and aromas and is ''very'' difficult to imitate convincingly, so hardly anyone bothers.
* ''"Bac-Os" are vegan.'' There's nothing in them but vegetable matter and artificial additives. They're supposed to be ''bacon bits!'' If the ingredients list doesn't so much as say "Natural and artificial flavors". There is something disturbing about an imitation meat product that wasn't made for the specific purpose of being an imitation meat product
** [http://www.baconsalt.com/ Bacon Salt] actually boasts that it's kosher and vegetarian. The packet for Chicken, Bacon and similar varieties of 'Super Noodles' (isn't that a name that just ''inspires'' confidence?) used to quite ''prominently'' display that they were "suitable for vegetarians". Quite skewed advertising priorities there. There are types of ''cream cheese frosting'' that are vegan. And "creme" cookies.
** Oreos are vegan. The creme is palm oil.
* Long John Silver's, a fast food seafood restaurant, advertises that they serve langostino lobster, another term for squat lobster, a species closer to ''hermit crabs'' than what we would think of as lobsters.
** This is pretty common in marketing sea food. When it was discovered that the evil-sounding Patagonian Toothfish could be profitably raised in fish farms, its name got transmogrified into "Chilean sea bass" on the way to the grocery store, and "dolphinfish" became "mahi mahi".
* "Vegan" / "Vegetarian" is dangerous when preceding a food product that shouldn't be. Vegan apples are fine, vegan mashed potatoes probably good, vegan [[Scott Pilgrim vs. the World|chicken parmesan]]... not so much. Often overlaps with "food product", as in "Vegan Frozen Dessert Product". In fairness, the people buying vegan chicken parmesan usually want a meat substitute.
* In New York, wine can only be sold in dedicated liquor stores. Grocery stores can sell beverages that are up to 6% alcohol by volume, including beer, hard cider, and "wine products." Please don't confuse Chateau Diana Wine Product for actual wine.
* In Canada, buying "maple butter" is definitely better than buying "map-o-spread". Speaking of maple products, be careful when buying maple syrup in the US. "Real Maple Syrup" is not. "Maple Syrup", by contrast, is. And "Natural Maple Syrup" is just a bad idea. If you don't want to worry about it (and who does?), just get corn syrup. But not "Corn-Flavored Syrup", which is neither corn syrup, nor delicious
** Look for the USDA sticker and classification in the US. If it says Grade A/B Light/Medium/Dark Amber, it's good. (But if you're really particular, pay close attention to the label. Dark Amber has a much stronger maple flavor than Light Amber.)
** Not surprisingly, the Canadian government has an entire sub-department dedicated to ensuring the purity and quality of Canadian-produced maple syrup. Any hint of a company selling ersatz maple syrup will bring the wrath of God (or at least the Department of Agriculture - sometimes they're hard to tell apart) down on someone's sorry head. This troper has never seen ''anything'' as fierce as when an American company tried to market its maple-flavoured dreck as "pure maple". The government literally smashed the bottles out in the street in front of the warehouse as if they were Carrie Nation taking it to barrels of Prohibition hooch. Entertaining but weird.
* In Mexico, you can find a fried taco-like snack where one of the flavors is not "guacamole", but "''huakamolez''". The description reads something like "Huakamolez-flavored rolled fried corn snacks." Mmmm ... Whack-A-Mole flavor. For some reason, in the Netherlands, it's really hard to find guacamole that has more than a few percent of actual avocados.
** The reason is very simple. Avocados don't keep that well, so they're usually hellishly expensive outside of Mexico (or their other producer for that matter).
** This troper can attest to that. When some enterprising souls discovered that a particular coastal region of Spain (the "Tropical coast" of the province of Granada) has just the perfect climate to grow some tropical fruits, avocados (which used to be "exotic fruit nobody you know has ever tasted") turned overnight into "everyday salad ingredient".
* If you're looking for fruit juice from something other than apples, grapes, pineapples, or oranges, it's very improbable you'll find it. Instead, you're likely to see things such as "apricot nectar," "pear cocktail," "lemon drink," "blueberry punch," and "cherry blend." All of these will probably consist of as little of the top-billed ingredient as legally possible (usually in the form of pulp,) large amounts of filler juices (usually apple or white grape), lots of water, and sugar or other sweetener
** Some of this is justifiable, because not all juices are good to drink. It's not hard to find lemon or lime juice, but they are ingredients, not beverages. And cranberry juice is unpalatable by itself. A lot of unsweetened juices from the more exotic fruits (meaning basically anything—not apples, grapes, oranges, or pineapples) do serve as a non-alcoholic alternative to wine, as their taste can be similar enough for the (presumed) intended purpose.
** Ironically with some of these juices, the higher-quality ones have significant amounts of cane sugar while the "100% Juice [flavor of] Cranberry" only taste like their filler juices.
* Boneless chicken nuggets with hot sauce on them tend to be called "wyngs" or "wingz."
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* Meta example: "Nutritionist". Everyone who has contributed to this article is technically a nutritionist, but odds are, very few of the editors for this page are dieticians. Even worse, "Dr." as in [[Take That|"'Dr.' Gillian McKeith"]], usually means a PhD, often from a diploma mill.
* "Vegetable" protein doesn't mean tomatoes and spinach. It means soy.
** Vegetable oil, on the other hand, can mean ''any'' of the thousands of different oils of plant origin. But mostly it's either soy, corn or sunflower. Note that all of these are technically made from
* Smart Balance describes 2% milk as having "more saturated fat than a small order of french fries". What they don't say is that french fries are cooked in partially hydrogenated soybean oil (less saturated fat than butter or lard, usually; more than regular soybean oil), or that the big problem with french fries is the calories.
* Russia has a strict food labeling regulations, so visiting a supermarket can in a pinch substitute for a food processing class. For example only milk that never been through any modification (except fat separation) could be legally labeled "milk". If some milk fat was added to it, it's "normalized milk", if it was powdered at some point, it's "reconstituted milk", etc. So to escape stigma producers immediately turned to the same trick as
** "Yoghurt" needs to contain actual yoghurt bacteria, or else it doesn't count. "Frughurt" etc on the other hand...
** Condensed milk with sugar is basically Russia's peanut butter for all means and purposes. As such is even has a somewhat affectionate nickname of "condensey". Pretty convenient to put that nickname on the cover, because as it does not feature the word "milk" it does not need to contain any milk.
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* Do not confuse "krab" with "crab." The latter comes from an actual crustacean. The former is actually pollock fish ground into a paste and formed into something resembling crab meat in terms of flavor...and a tube of string cheese in terms of appearance.
** Nowadays you'd be lucky if you happen to find an actual ''fish'' there. Apparently, good ol' soy protein and enterprising use of additives/flavorings allows to make a crab stick without ''any'' animal matter.
*** Krab, unlike real crab, can be certified
* A Finnish butter/vegetable oil mixture called "Voimariini" was forced to change its name due to it containing the Finnish word for "butter" (="voi") despite not being wholly butter. The change was due to an EU regulation prohibiting such "misleading" naming; the not-actually-butter in question had been called the same for about twenty years before the change.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Spoofed in ''[[Judge Dredd]]'' where the fizzy wine-like beverage is called ''Shampane''.
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* Judging from a [[Dummied Out]] audio diary in ''[[BioShock (series)]]'', real beef doesn't exist in Rapture. In ''[[BioShock 2]]'', there are advertisements for "Beef•e" potted meat. Averted with "Calci-O" brand artificial milk, however; it at least claims to contain real calcium (which is probably true; seashells are made of calcium carbonate, a common food additive in [[Real Life]]) and bills itself openly as a "milk substitute".
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Food Tropes]]
[[Category:Lite Creme]]
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