Life, 1909-02-04 · page 31 of 40
Life — February 4, 1909 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Heinz company advertisement**, not satire or a cartoon. It's a public health advocacy ad disguised as marketing. **Context:** In the early 1900s, **sodium benzoate** was a controversial food preservative. The ad educates readers that benzoate is a coal-tar chemical (not baking soda, as many mistakenly believed) that manufacturers used to mask spoilage in inferior ingredients—indicating unsafe food. **The pitch:** Government labeling laws required disclosure, but Heinz claims competitors hide this in fine print. Heinz positions itself as the ethical alternative: using quality ingredients, maintaining transparent manufacturing (they welcomed 30,000 visitors annually), employing uniformed workers, and needing "no drugs, no chemicals, no adulterants." **Why it matters today:** This reflects Progressive Era consumer activism and early FDA regulation. Heinz leveraged food safety concerns to build brand trust—a marketing strategy still used today, though modern companies now often embrace "natural" or "chemical-free" claims rather than transparency about actual processes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
What Benzoate of Soda Is! A powerful chemical anti-ferment—tasteless, odorless, nngeccenple: Benzoate of Soda is a coal tar product. It cannot be cl as a food, It is not a form of baking soda, as many believe. Benzoate of Soda permits the use of inferior raw materials which cannot be made into food under ordinary treatment. Its presence too often indicates positive unwholesomeness or unsanitary preparation, or both—the cn ot you would not care to eat if you could see it made and what it is made of. Examine All Food Labels Carefully ! The Govemment authorities require that when a food contains Benzoate of Soda it shall be so labeled. Do not be deceived. This labeling is always obscure and in fine type. You will need to look closely for the statement: “Contains one-tenth of one per cent Benzoate of Soda.” EINZ IZ Varieties Pure Food Products Do Not Contain Benzoate of Soda Only the finest selection of fresh materials — whether fruit, vegetable or seasoning—are used in Heinz 57 Varieties. The methods by which these are cepared are as cleanly, as thorough,.as painstaking as 40 years’ experience can make them. Our workers are neatly uniformed; our model kitchens are sunny, well ventilated, well kept. Materials, methods and surroundings of the Heinz type need no drugs, no chemicals, no adulterants. Our doors are always open. The public is free to come and go at all hours, 30,000 visitors registering last year. How many other food establishments do you know of that follow the open door policy? Let us send booklet. H. J. HEINZ CO., New York — Pittsburgh — Chicago — London. comicbooks.com