History Main / LiteCreme

** "cheese food product" contains less than half cheese, and sometimes no cheese at all. In fact, any food with "product" in it is a worry.
** When James Kraft invented Velveeta, the words "processed cheese" that appear on the packaging were a compromise with the court system. The rest of the cheese industry had been lobbying to force him to label it "embalmed cheese." Technically, Velveeta is based on a pretty standard cheese ''sauce'' recipe. It's got extra protein (in the form of whey and nonfat dry milk) added, so it'll set up into a semi-solid loaf, and instead of the ''roux'' [[note]]flour fried in oil, used as a thickener[[/note]] a normal cheese sauce uses, it uses a starch-like gum called "alginate". Cheez Whiz is basically the same thing with the cream swapped out for vegetable oil, and flavors like mustard seed and Worcestershire sauce added. Neither is very good for you, mainly because of the salt and fat.[[note]]that is, if you believe these things are bad for you[[/note]]
** There is a "cheez-y" food that is a low-fat parmesan imitation, for sprinkling on pasta and such. The actual description from the actual label? ''Parmesan''-style ''cheese-grated'' topping. The emphasis is theirs.

* A common myth about ''Kentucky Fried Chicken'' is that the chain's name [[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/food/kfc.asp was changed to KFC, because they're not legally allowed to include "Chicken" in the title.]] The rumors said that Yum! Foods, the umbrella company that owns KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, had genetically engineered "Creature 57", variously suspected to be a headless and eight-legged chicken or some sort of shmoo-like monstrosity whose flesh could be processed in different ways to create the various meat-ish substances that their various chains use.
** In fact, they changed it because of the negative consumer connotations that went along with the word "Fried".
*** It's actually rather strange they targeted KFC for this, as anyone who's ever actually eaten there can see that everything KFC sells is clearly identifiable as actual bits of chicken--really, it's the non-chicken chains that use the Mystery Poultry.
**** Oddly enough, the real reason they changed it is because the state of Kentucky decided to start charging for the right to use their name.

** 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 seeds -- actual vegetables have usually too little oil to think of, except olives and avocados.

* The dairy isle of many grocery stores also has Chocolate Drink right next to the Chocolate Milk. (Sure, it has real chocolate, but not much else.)

* Meat pies, the Australian classic. Miscellaneous bits like tendons, ears, skin and snouts count as "meat". The meat may also come from camels and other random animals, instead of one of the more common domestic livestock, and even then the pie only has to be about a quarter animal bits to qualify as a meat pie. Mmmm, camel noses and soy filler. Delicious.

* Meat pies. Miscellaneous bits like tendons, ears, skin and snouts count as "meat". The meat may also come from camels and other random animals, instead of one of the more common domestic livestock, and even then the pie only has to be about a quarter animal bits to qualify as a meat pie. Mmmm, camel noses and soy filler. Delicious.

** When James Kraft invented Velveeta, the words "processed cheese" that appear on the packaging were a compromise with the court system. The rest of the cheese industry had been lobbying to force him to label it "embalmed cheese." Technically, Velveeta is based on a pretty standard cheese ''sauce'' recipe. It's got extra protein (in the form of whey and nonfat dry milk) added, so it'll set up into a semi-solid loaf, and instead of the ''roux'' [[hottip:*:flour fried in oil, used as a thickener]] a normal cheese sauce uses, it uses a starch-like gum called "alginate". Cheez Whiz is basically the same thing with the cream swapped out for vegetable oil, and flavors like mustard seed and Worcestershire sauce added. Neither is very good for you, mainly because of the salt and fat.[[hottip:*:that is, if you believe these things are bad for you]]

* Spoofed in ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd'' where the fizzy wine-like beverage is called ''Shampane''. [[hottip:*: French winemakers are pressing for champagne made outside of one region in France to be called "sparkling wine". Their success has been mixed, but around 2006, they hit a breakthrough: the US, which normally doesn't go for this kind of thing, agreed to ban sales of "champagne" that wasn't actually from Champagne in France, with a GrandfatherClause allowing US brands that had used the term "champagne" before the agreement was signed to continue doing so as long as they put the place of origin (usually California) prominently and close to the word "champagne." Believe it or not, most of the better vintners in America ''liked'' this--they're attempting to establish their own identities, and relying on European names is holding them back.]]

*** Canola needn't to be genetically modified. Technically, it's an abbreviation of "[=CANadian=] Oil Low Acid", referring to the unpleasantly bitter and reportedly mildly toxic (its health effects are now disputed) erucic acid, that makes rapeseed oil unpalatable as of itself. So the oil from any low-erucic varieties of rape, be they genetically modified, or simply bred for low-EA content, could be named canola. Well, tecnically only if produced in Canada, but it long has become a genericized trademark.

* In ''SisterSister'', the twins worked at a food court burger stand for a while. Their main product was a sandwich that could not be legally called a "hamburger" due to its use of a "meat-like patty".
* When ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' gets a job at the Doublemeat Palace, she suspects the burgers are made of people. It eventually turns out they're actually made of a vegetable-based meat substitute.

** 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.

** There is also a substantive vs adjective trick. It seems that the use of substantive nouns is subject to regulations, but the use of adjectives isn't. It has lead to some rebrandings, with a creme'n'froots "Chudo-tvorog" (literally "Wonder cottage cheese") becoming "Tvorozhnoye chudo" (lit. "Cottage cheese wonder").

* In a ''ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' sketch set in the research department of haircare product makers Laboratoire Garnier, Monsieur Garnier congratulates one lab technician on the invention of the word ‘Nutrisse’ - "Which sounds like ‘nutrition’ but doesn’t guarantee it."

The implication of qualities or ingredients in a product that aren't there because of certain words or spellings of words that vary from the standard. This is usually done to get around government regulations on truth in advertising laws. This is how you end up with products like fruit/citrus "punch" when something contains no actual fruit juice, "choc" or "choco" when something contains little to no actual chocolate, and "creme" spread that contains no dairy cream. The intent of the law was to prevent advertisers from using words like "chocolate" and "cream" to describe products that didn't contain the ingredients mentioned, but the feds didn't count on [[ViewersAreMorons consumer illiteracy]]; too many people now assume that "froot with choco creme" is the same thing as "fruit with chocolate cream", and assume they're getting vitamins and minerals they really aren't. And advertisers happily take advantage of it.

The implication of qualities or ingredients in a product that aren't there because of certain words or spellings of words that vary from the standard. This is usually done to get around government regulations on truth in advertising laws. This is how you end up with products like fruit/citrus "punch" when something contains no actual fruit, "choc" or "choco" when something contains little to no actual chocolate, and "creme" spread that contains no dairy cream. The intent of the law was to prevent advertisers from using words like "chocolate" and "cream" to describe products that didn't contain the ingredients mentioned, but the feds didn't count on [[ViewersAreMorons consumer illiteracy]]; too many people now assume that "froot with choco creme" is the same thing as "fruit with chocolate cream", and assume they're getting vitamins and minerals they really aren't. And advertisers happily take advantage of it.

** The reason is very simple. Avocados don't keep that well, so they're usually hellishly expensive outside of Mexico (or their other producer countries for that matter--one of the main reasons most of the US gets fresh avocados at all is that California is avocado country, so the fruit can be shipped while still (relatively) good).

** 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).

** 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. 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".

** Many US jurisdictions make a distinction between beer/wine and hard liquor, with licensing and fees being stricter for the latter. However, you can buy drinks that are essentially identical to mixed drinks at beer/wine stores, the only distinction being that the alcohol comes from a "malt beverage" (beer) process rather than vodka.

** 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 tissue[[note]]And let's be honest: dogs, at least, eat ''feces''.'''Their own''' feces. Do you think Fido really cares whether what he's eating is prime rib or, well, ribs? ([[DontExplainTheJoke By which we mean the actual bones called ribs, not the meat around them]].)[[/note]] -- but depending on which wibbly bits it is, it may not be good for their health if they eat nothing but. If it just says "meat" without specifying what animal it comes from, anything goes.

** 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 tissue[[note]]And let's be honest: dogs, at least eat ''feces''.'''Their own''' feces. Do you think Fido really cares whether what he's eating is prime rib or, well, ribs? ([[DontExplainTheJoke By which we mean the actual bones called ribs, not the meat around them]].)[[/note]] -- but depending on which wibbly bits it is, it may not be good for their health if they eat nothing but. If it just says "meat" without specifying what animal it comes from, anything goes.