Life, 1909-04-15 · page 23 of 36
Life — April 15, 1909 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **food industry advertisement**, not a political cartoon. The H.J. Heinz Company uses it to attack a competitor's preservation practice. **The Issue:** Benzoate of Soda, a coal-tar-derived chemical preservative used by some food manufacturers, was scientifically controversial in the early 20th century. **The Argument:** Heinz claims that: - Scientific opinion opposes artificial preservatives as inherently harmful - Limited safety testing on healthy young men doesn't prove safety for children, elderly people, or long-term use - Manufacturers hide benzoate warnings in tiny print, suggesting guilt - Quality manufacturers (like Heinz) don't *need* artificial preservatives **The Pitch:** Heinz products are made without benzoate and can be purchased "with absolute confidence." This reflects the **Pure Food and Drug Act era** (early 1900s) when food safety and ingredient disclosure became public concerns. Heinz positions itself as the ethical choice for health-conscious consumers suspicious of industrial additives.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ner was 10 follow he prose Where Health Is Concerned Why Take Any Chances? The great weight of scientific opinion throughout the world is hostile to the use of all artificial preservatives in food products, as being in themselves harmful and as making possible the employment of unwholesome materials and unsanitary ractices. P Benzoate of Soda is a tasteless, odorless product of coal tar, medicinally used for many diseases. It is a drug, not a food. A few scientists have announced — after brief experimentation upon healthy young men—that a limited quantity of Benzoate of Soda, administered during the experimental period, caused the subjects of the experiment no apparent injury. This but adds one more opinion on this subject. There is no evidence anywhere that ordinary people, elderly persons, growing children and those who may have even slight impairment of health, may take indefinite quantities of this drug, or that any one may take it for an indefinite period without danger. No manufacturer who uses good, sound, fresh ralv material, maintains sanitary premises and requires neatness in his work-people, needs to use Benzoate of Soda or any other arti- ficial preserbatibe. Manufacturers using Benzoate of Soda state its presence upon the labels of their products, because the Law compels them to do so— but the statements are always hidden in small type as obscurely placed as possible—a fact which, in itself, is a reflection upon the use of the substance. The use of any drug with which to embalm the food supply of the country is unnatural, unnecessary and unjustifiable. Heinz ‘57 Varieties’’ — like the products of many other reputable and high class establishments — are prepared without Benzoate of Soda or any other artificial preserbatibe, and may be purchased anylvhere with absolute confidence in their purity, goodness and keeping quality. The public may choose for itself what kind of foods it will eat. If you wish to avoid prepared foods that have been drugged, read all there is printed on every food label. H. J. HEINZ COMPANY Members of the American (Manufacturers) Association for the Promotion of Purity In Food Products.