History Main / LiteCreme

* Chemistry [=YouTuber=] [=NileRed=] [[DiscussedTrope discussed this concept]] as it pertains to "processed cheese"/"American cheese" in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aGNAxN5Z-o Making American cheese to debunk a conspiracy]]" from his [=NileBlue=] side channel. Nigel acknowledges the red flags in what the product is described to be, namely the packaging describing it as a "cheddar-style process cheese product" due to health boards like the FDA in the US preventing them from legally calling it bona-fide "cheese" -- combined with processed cheese's uniquely plastic-y appearance, this has led to the modern assumption that it's some horrible, artificial and deeply unhealthy product meant to trick uneducated suckers. However, Nigel demonstrates by making some of it himself that it very much consists ''heavily'' of real cheddar cheese, and is "processed" by way of adding water, butter, milk powder, and bits of [[ScaryScienceWords scary-sounding, but fundamentally innocuous chemicals]] made to emulsify everything like salts. He concludes that while some caution is to be taken over what it legally can and can't be named, "processed cheese" is not some unethical chemical abomination masquerading itself as something palatable -- it's simply diluted with preservatives past an agreed-upon legal threshold, and isn't much worse putting in your body than cheddar.

* Chemistry [=YouTuber=] [=NileRed=] [[DiscussedTrope discussed this concept]] as it pertains to "processed cheese"/"American cheese" in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aGNAxN5Z-o Making American cheese to debunk a conspiracy]]" from his [=NileBlue=] side channel. Nigel acknowledges the red flags in what the product is described to be, namely the packaging describing it as a "cheddar-style process cheese product" due to health boards like the FDA in the US preventing them from legally calling it bona-fide "cheese" -- combined with processed cheese's uniquely plastic-y appearance, this has led to the modern assumption that it's some horrible, artificial and deeply unhealthy product meant to trick uneducated suckers. However, Nigel demonstrates by making some of it himself that it very much consists ''heavily'' of real cheddar cheese, and is "processed" by way of adding water, butter, milk powder, and bits of [[ScaryScienceWords scary-sounding, but fundamentally innocuous chemicals]] made to emulsify everything like salts. He concludes that while some caution is to be taken over what it legally can and can't be named, "processed cheese" is not some unethical chemical abomination masquerading itself as something palatable -- it's simply diluted with preservatives past an agreed-upon legal threshold.

* Chemistry [=YouTuber=] [=NileRed=] [[DiscussedTrope discussed this concept]] as it pertains to "processed cheese"/"American cheese" in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aGNAxN5Z-o Making American cheese to debunk a conspiracy]]" from his [=NileBlue=] side channel. Nigel acknowledges the red flags in what the product is described to be, namely the packaging describing it as a "cheddar-style process cheese product" due to health boards like the FDA in the US preventing them from legally calling it bona-fide "cheese" -- combined with processed cheese's uniquely plastic-y appearance, this has led to the modern assumption that it's some horrible, artificial and deeply unhealthy product meant to trick uneducated suckers. However, Nigel demonstrates by making some of it himself that it very much consists ''heavily'' of real cheddar cheese, and is "processed" by way of adding water, butter, milk powder, and bits of [[ScaryScienceWords scary-sounding, but fundamentally innocuous chemicals]] made to emulsify everything like salts. He concludes that while some caution is to be taken over what it legally can and can't be named, "processed cheese" is not some unethical chemical abomination masquerading itself as something palatable -- it simply diluted with preservatives past a legal threshold.

* Lean Textured Beef, or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_slime pink slime]], has been used as an additive to ground beef and pet foods since early in the millennium. Composed of parts no one would consider meat and treated with chemicals no one would consider edible, the beef lobby insists that it qualifies as beef but no one has attempted to sell it by itself to consumers. Indeed, an ABC News report in 2012 caused a massive backlash against it, leading to retailers and restaurant chains quickly dropping the additive from their ground beef offerings. Its largest producer, Beef Products Inc., sued ABC for defamation due to the lost business forcing them to close most of its plants; both settled out of court in 2017. Incidentally, this product is illegal in Canada and the EU due to the ammonia used in its production, though the similar Finely Textured Beef (which uses citric acid instead) is legal in Canada under certain conditions.

* Government regulations prevent use of the word "cream" to describe food products which contain no dairy cream. The word "creme" is used to create the impression of a creamy texture or flavor; as such, it's used where the product contains no cream, contains no dairy products at all, or isn't even edible. There's historical precedent to this sort of thing (''e.g.'' creme de cassis). "Creme" snack cakes usually contain long-lasting vegetable shortening, giving them their [[IndestructibleEdible legendarily long shelf life]]. "Creme soda" has a slightly different origin, as it's named after the ice cream traditionally added to the original drink.

** 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.

** Imitation Parmesan cheese runs into this in two ways. First is the fact that "Parmesan-style" cheese often isn't real cheese at all, leading to the "pizza topping" thing above. An additional wrinkle in Europe is that only cheese from the Parma region of Italy can be legally called Parmesan cheese (which Kraft gets around simply by calling it "Pamesello").
* An item can only be labeled "chocolate" if it contains both cocoa solids or powder ''and'' cocoa butter. No such rule exists for foods labeled "chocolate-flavored", "fudge", or with misspellings like "choc" or "choco". Ironically, "chocolate-flavored" often means that the product is somewhat better for you than real chocolate; it often contains chocolate liquor but replaces cocoa butter with carnauba wax, which reduces fat, improves tempering, and still contains all the caffeine and serotonin mimics of regular chocolate.

** "White chocolate" is often contested as not being chocolate at all, since it contains no ''cocoa'', only cocoa butter, sugar and milk. And that's the top-of-the-line stuff; most candy made to resemble white chocolate can't be legally called that, since it swaps out the cocoa butter for some other kind of solid fat. These go by "white confection," "vanilla baking chips," and so on. Most people don't seem to care.

** It's also common to fudge with the ''type'' of sugar this way. Producers can claim their products are "sugar-free" when they just lack sucrose and contain a different type of sugar, like fructose or glucose. On the other hand, now that people are catching on to [[UnfortunateIngredients evils of high-fructose corn syrup]], they're touting their products as using "real sugar", even though they're just using glucose, the other half of the sucrose molecule. (Fructose ''is'' worse in inducing obesity, but [[MortonsFork it's much safer for diabetics]].)
** It's even possible to fudge the fruit the juice comes from. Many fruit juices be labeled things like "apricot nectar", "pear cocktail", "lemon drink", "blueberry punch", or "cherry blend". They 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 sweeteners. But sometimes [[JustifiedTrope it's necessary]], because some juices in their pure form can be unpalatable to drink (like cranberry or lemon juice).

** "Natural flavor" rarely specifies ''which'' flavors. For instance, there's often no citrus juice in a citrus-flavored food because citrus oil, which comes from the rind rather than the flesh, is a more effective flavoring agent. This is how 7-Up can simultaneously tout itself as using only natural flavors and at the same time containing no juice.

** And to add insult to injury, these flavors -- whether natural or artificial -- rarely taste anything like what they're supposed to imitate. This is because the flavors of actual fruits and such are hideously complex blends of up to thousands of chemicals, which are tricky (and expensive) to make in a lab. What cheap producers often do is simply isolate the few strongest chemicals in the flavor and synthesize that. This is how you get "strawberry flavor" InNameOnly.

** Extract the same chemical from wood as a byproduct of paper making -- less sexy, but fairly effective;[[note]]Wood is usually pretty rich in vanillin; the vanilla and similar notes in [[SommelierSpeak fine wines and spirits]] aged in barrels derive from wood vanillin[[/note]] or

* Maple syrup is SeriousBusiness in places that produce it, like Canada and the northeastern U.S. As such, they both have extensive classification schemes for the real deal. Canada comes down hard on Ersatz maple syrup, so serious is the business there. But in the US, it's surprising what you can get away with. "Maple syrup" is the real deal. "Real maple syrup" and "natural maple syrup" are ''not''. Look instead for the USDA sticker and classification in the US (Grade A/B Light/Medium/Dark Amber).

* Chicken "nuggets", "tenders", or "wyngz" are promoted as such to obfuscate where on the chicken the meat comes from. They're likely processed from scraps of breasts, thighs, and other cuts. That means that even "breast tenders" and "white meat tenders" seemingly offer better cuts than they really do. "Tenders" is particularly deceptive, because unlike pig or cow meat, where "tenderloin" refers to the most tender piece of meat on the animal, chicken tenderloin is functionally identical to the breast.

* You can often find a product in grocery stores sold next to the ice cream, in containers indistinguishable from the ice cream containers, that is rather unnervingly not referred to as "ice cream" but as "frozen dairy dessert", mainly because it doesn't contain any cream -- or, for that matter, any milk fat at all; they achieve creaminess with vegetable oil. These desserts also have an unsettling trait of keeping their original shape even after melting, where real ice cream will completely liquefy.

* The Scottish soft drink Irn-Bru changed its name from Iron Brew in the 1940s, partly because the new name was easier to trademark, but also because of proposed new advertising laws; it wasn't brewed. (It ''does'', however, contain a tiny amount of ammonium ferric citrate.) The label currently declares that it's "Bru'd" in Scotland. The highly caffeinated, fluorescent orange drink tastes quite a bit like iron...or possibly blood.

* An aversion to much of the negative imagery surrounding "artificial" versus "natural": Artificial almond flavor is made from crude oil, but it's actually better for your health than natural almond flavor, as natural almond flavor contains a lot of hydrogen cyanide (the same cyanide that's associated with suicide and really is extremely toxic) whereas almond flavor derived from crude oil contains no hydrogen cyanide at all.
** The natural almond flavor is mostly caused by the amygdalin, the cyanogenic glycoside common to the whole prune family,[[note]]Almond can actually be considered a huge-seeded, almost fleshless peach grown mainly for its kernel (almond flesh is thin, leathery and inedible). Indeed, the pits of other members of the prune family--particularly apricots--are used to produce almond-like flavoring.[[/note]] which is metabolysed into sugar, benzaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide, also known as Prussic or bluing acid. Both Prussic acid and benzaldehyde smells are surprisingly similar, so synthetic almond flavor is usually just pure benzaldehyde without the poisonous cyanide. That said, it's not that benzaldehyde is totally safe, though. It's also moderately toxic (the lethal dose for an average human is ~50g), so it's just a matter of choosing a lesser evil.

* On the human side, again, in descending order of ham content: "ham", "ham in natural juices", "ham with water added", and "ham and water product". The first two are okay, as the first refers to dry hams like American country ham and the various Old World cured dried hams,[[note]]Stuff like Spanish/Portuguese jamón ibérico, Italian prosciutto, and Chinese Jinhua ham, though they are usually not so labeled because the specific type is a strong selling point[[/note]], and the second refers to moister deli-style ham. The other two are total hambominations.

* On the human side, again, in descending order of ham content: "ham", "ham in natural juices", "ham with water added", and "ham and water product". The first two are okay, as the first refers to dry hams like American country ham and the various Old World cured dried hams,[[note]]Stuff like jamón ibérico, prosciutto, and Jinhua ham, though they are usually not so labeled because the specific type is a strong selling point[[/note]], and the second refers to moister deli-style ham. The other two are total hambominations.

* On the human side, again, in descending order of ham content: "ham", "ham in natural juices", "ham with water added", and "ham and water product". The first two are okay, as the first refers to dry hams like American country ham and the various Old World cured dried hams,[[note]]Stuff like jamón ibérico, prosciutto, and Jinhua ham, though they are usually not so labeled because the specific type is a strong selling point[[/note]] refers to moister deli-style ham. The second two are total hambominations.

* The curious candy eater might notice that Tic-Tacs aren't advertised as "sugar-free", but as having "0 grams" of sugar. As manufacturer Ferrero [[http://www.tictacusa.com/en/faqs openly admit]], FDA regulations allow them to use the number "0" if the amount of sugar per each serving (that being one mint) is less than 0.5 grams.

* On the human side, again, in descending order of ham content: "ham", "ham in natural juices", "ham with water added", and "ham and water product". The first two are okay, as the first refers to dry country ham while the second refers to moister deli-style ham. The second two are total hambominations.

* One of the Advertising examples above is subtly referenced in ''Film/JurassicPark''. Hammond serves his guests "Chilean sea bass", which as noted is just toothfish with a fancier name, at the luxury hotel. It's {{foreshadowing}} of his attempts to cut corners despite having "[[{{Catchphrase}} spared no expense]]".

** Some turn their Lite Creme appelation into a brand name and put that in big letters on the product, with the real designation in fine print on the bottom. For instance, the law requires "yoghurt" to contain actual yoghurt bacteria. "Frughurt" has no such restrictions.
** Some will use Russian diminuitives, which are technically different words and outside the labeling requirement. "Smetana" (sour cream) has to be the real deal; the diminuitive "smetanka" can easily contain all sorts of additives.

** Seldom Bucket, the cheesemaker from ''Literature/{{Maskerade}}'', has an advertisment in ''The Compleat Ankh-Morpork City Guide'' for his "Mostly Cheese Spreads".

* Government regulations prevent use of the word "cream" to describe food products which contain no dairy cream. The word "creme" is used to create the impression of a creamy texture or flavor; as such, it's used where the product contains no cream, contains no dairy products at all, or isn't even edible. There's historical precedent to this sort of thing (''e.g.'' creme de cassis) "Creme" snack cakes usually contain long-lasting vegetable shortening, giving them their [[IndestructibleEdible legendarily long shelf life]]. "Creme soda" has a slightly different origin, as it's named after the ice cream traditionally added to the original drink.

** Imitation Parmesan cheese runs into this in two ways. First is the fact that "Parmesan-style" cheese often isn't real cheese at all, leading to the "pizza topping" thing above. An additional wrinkle in Europe is that only cheese from the Parma region of Italy can be legally called Parmesan cheese (which Kraft gets around simply by calling it "Parma cheese").

** Unfortunately, none of the legal restrictions on the word "chocolate" apply to white chocolate, which is basically just cocoa butter. Most white chocolate is basically... not chocolate. Some candy stores will even just straight-up call it "white confection". Most people don't seem to care.

* In the U.S., many "uncured hot dogs" contain "no added nitrates" yet are indistinguishable from the regular kind. Read the fine print and you'll usually see a disclaimer like "except for those naturally present in celery juice" — celery juice being full of sodium nitrate. In other words, ''uncured hot dogs with no added nitrates have been cured with added nitrates'', and this is legal. (True nitrate- and nitrite-free hot dogs are grey like other cooked sausages.)
** This is also becoming the case with bacon, and may affect ham, corned beef and other cured meats in the future.

*** Krab, unlike real crab, can be certified kosher-- making it worthwhile for someone who wants to preserve the flavor of what would be a trayf dish.

* Supermarkets in Ireland stock both "Smoked Irish Salmon" and "Irish Smoked Salmon" - the former means it was sourced in Ireland, while the latter means it was ''smoked'' in Ireland.

[[folder: Live Action TV]]
* In the early 90s Creator/ComedyCentral briefly had a show called ''Comedy Product''.

* In a ''Series/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."

[[folder: Web Comics]]

[[folder: Web Originals]]

* One strip of ''Webcomic/OzyAndMillie'' [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade on this]] with the line "It's really amazing how many cereals have to misspell their alleged main ingredient to avoid a false advertising lawsuit." It mentions (fictional, of course) cereals "Aple Squares", "Froot-O's", and "Sinn-A-Munn Crispies." Not to mention the line "I had no idea there were so many words for sugar." (said while looking at the ingredients list)

** Word placement is also an issue. "Natural flavor" means what's described above; "natural ''lemon'' flavor", though, is a natural flavor that tastes "like lemons" but may not necessarily have ever ''been'' lemons. Several members of the mint and sage families (''e.g.'' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloysia_citrodora lemon verbena]]) have strong citrus components, as it happens.

** A common myth about UsefulNotes/KentuckyFriedChicken (referenced in ''Literature/AmericanGods'') 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. For the record, they actually changed it because of the negative consumer connotations that went along with the word "fried". ([[http://www.snopes.com/lost/kfc.asp The competing claim]] that it's ''really'' because the state of Kentucky opportunistically trademarked the name looks legit right up until you notice that it's filed under "[[FunWithAcronyms The Repository Of Lost Legends]]".)

* In the UK there are incredibly stringent guidelines as to what can legally be described as a Meat Sausage, so the cheaper variations (often sold en-mass by catering wholesalers) get around this by using various other phrases to describe the product. Bangers is one popular term used, as it's also a popular British slang term for actual sausages. A documentary by Creator/TheBBC a few years ago found that these products are mostly water and grain with very little meat in them (and often said meat is [[{{Squick}} not fit for human consumption).]] Basically [[Series/YesMinister high fat emulsified offal tubes]].

* Lean Textured Beef, or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_slime pink slime]] has been used as an additive to ground beef and pet foods since early in the millennium. Composed of parts no one would consider meat and treated with chemicals no one would consider edible, the beef lobby insists that it qualifies as beef but no one has attempted to sell it by itself to consumers. Indeed, an ABC News report in 2012 caused a massive backlash against it, leading to retailers and restaurant chains quickly dropping the additive from their ground beef offerings. Its largest producer, Beef Products Inc., sued ABC for defamation due to the lost business forcing them to close most of its plants; both settled out of court in 2017. Incidentally, this product is illegal in Canada and the EU due to the ammonia used in its production, though the similar Finely Textured Beef (which uses citric acid instead) is legal in Canada under certain conditions.

* It's not stated explicitly, but considering "real" food and fresh produce in TheVerse of ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' [[FutureFoodIsArtificial are only available to the richest of the rich]] ([[AndZoidberg and criminals]]), the "Fruity Oaty Bars" most likely contain only artificial fruit and may even have synthesized oats.

--> '''Krusty:''' "I used ''non''-diseased meat from diseased animals."

--> '''Lisa:''' "You're serving us ''gruel?"''
--> '''Dolph''': "Not quite. ''(reveals the steel barrel containing the product)'' This is Krusty Brand ''Imitation'' Gruel. Nine out of ten orphans can't tell the difference."

** In late 2010, Taco Bell's "beef" was accused of consisting only of 35% beef, with the rest assorted chemicals and filler, and which couldn't legally be classified as beef. The claim is that the chain got around this by using the meaningless word "beefy". Taco Bell says that its taco filling contains 88% USDA-inspected beef, with the rest being water, spices, oats, starch, and other filler ingredients -- this is common for almost all processed beef.

* "Vegan" does not equal "vegetarian", so it's dangerous when you see a "vegan" product that really shouldn't be vegan (like "vegan [[Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld chicken parmesan]]"). This is why you get such products as "vegan frozen dessert product", "vegan chik'n", "boneless wyngz" made out of texturized soy protein, and "diced meatless chiqin" actually made out of fungal protein.

* "Vegan" does not equal "vegetarian", so it's dangerous when you see a "vegan" product that really shouldn't be vegan (like "vegan [[Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld chicken parmesan]]"). This is why you get such products as "vegan frozen dessert product" and "vegan chik'n".