Misleading Food Packaging

Are these snack brands lying to you? Let's talk about that. Good Mythical Morning. Boopity boop boop boop boop boop. Research right off the bat. Uh-huh. When you wanna shop for a healthy snack, how do you decide what's actually healthy? If you ever looked at a package and seen a claim like, "All natural," or-. Mm-hmm … "Full of eight key vitamins"- Yes … and you then assumed the product.

was healthy because of that claim, well, you've fallen prey to the health halo effect. Yes, and in terms of health food marketing, the halo effect refers to the idea that. we see a singular claim on a package and then automatically assume it means. that the entire product is healthy. Mm-hmm. And companies use this psychology, especially here in the United States, uh, all the time to sell their products, often exploiting semantic loopholes. that can give a misleading impression.

Mm-hmm, so we've gathered up some of the sneakiest examples, and are ready to break 'em down. Okay. We're gonna be ranking these products on which ones are the most deceitful, right? So it's just like they're promising this thing and- Mm-hmm … like, how offended. are our sensibilities by that, okay? Mm-hmm. And this is the scale back here. Okay. We've got, the dec-heat is on. De-eat, dec-eat your heart out.

Monkey deceit, monkey de-doo, you see we're using deceit. Front row de-seat. Deceit and desist. And deceiter of the pack. This will be the most deceitful. That will be the least deceitful. Yes. Okay, let's get started with some- And what, what will mon- the monkey one be? Uh, it will be, like, the fourth most deceitful. Wow. We absolutely love these. We're gonna tell you that right up front. Not a sponsor, but Just Bare. We, I mean, once they started giving us these lightly breaded chicken breast strips- Woo.

… here on the show, we started flipping out. We were like, "How did you make these?" You can get us to shut up. about anything if you give us these. You know? They taste so good. All right. But Link, they're deceptive. Are they healthy? Well, they have … We're not gonna be covering every single. thing that they talk about. We're just gonna be talking about the one thing that kind of brings in the halo effect. and, and the … We're gonna be talking about something that's actual deceitful.

There's things on this package that are true. And just as an overview, before you start to knock them at the place. where they're most vulnerable. Okay. Green packaging. Yeah. Yeah. That s- that seems like it's good. Just Bare. The word bare. Just Bare. It's like, it, it implies that there's not a lot going on. So I, I think this is, seems like a healthier alternative. And there's some things like- But it's a fried chicken, so … cage-free. chicken, raised on American farms, no artificial ingredients, no preservatives.

Like, those are things that are not true of all chicken strips. However, right here at the top, no added hormones or steroids. You're like, "Oh, well, I love that. I don't want hormones or steroids in my food.". But did you know? No, I don't. There's a little asterisk there, and it says down here- It's actually not an asterisk. It's a weird symbol. It's like a T with another line through it. It looks like an F and a T mated. Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones or steroids in poultry.

That's something that's against the law in this country, and you can't do it anyway. That's like you're getting ready to go out on a date with somebody, and. they say, "I promise that tonight I will not kill you." That's- It's like, well, I'm hoping that was a given. That … You're not a murderer? That is so nice of you. Exactly, Link. How does that make you feel? It makes … I … Do I feel … I feel a little misled that they're doing something. They're bragging about something. It's the number one thing out of the three things that they're bragging about. But in their defense, not just because we think they taste good, it's not a lie, and-.

The clarification is right on the packaging. We're doing something we have to, but we are doing it. And if you think that we're doing it out of the goodness of just being bare, so be it. And don't you kind of want to know that the person you're gonna go out. on a date with isn't gonna kill you? Yeah, and it, but them saying it almost makes me think they are gonna kill me.

Re- it raises suspicions. Like, why would you say that? So what are you gonna do to me? Just maim me? That's good. So we shouldn't go all the way to six. Well, I'm going at the monkey spot. Go all the way to four. But we're gonna keep these. All right, we got some Froot Loops. Oh, yeah. I'm always happy to eat Froot Loops, but I kind of feel like, all right, this isn't good for me. Mm-mm. But… It's also for kids, so I feel like I've outgrown it.

But it, boy, does it taste good. And I need something to make me feel better. But what… Look at this. Oh, fiber. Good source of fiber. See, that's why I'm eating Froot Loops, 'cause I'm an o- older. person and I need fiber to regulate. Right there at the top, the biggest word next to Froot Loops or Kellogg's is fiber, Link. Good source of fiber. Well, what exactly does that mean? Well, according to the FDA requirements, if you have between 10 and 19% of the.

recommended daily value in a serving size for cereal, you can call yourself a good source. This is 11% of your daily value of fiber. And they can also adjust what they are calling a serving size. That's something that- It's up to them … it's up to whoever makes the. thing to say how big a serving size is. So they're like 1 1/3 cup. Yeah. Got, get that one third cup in there. Gets you over 10% of your fiber.

So you can say that. But- But you're not, you know you're not eating Froot Loops to be healthy. Well, bring in the, bring in the popcorn. It's just supposed to make you feel better about making a, an unhealthy choice. Bring in that bowl of popcorn. So that bowl of popcorn right here. Ooh. This is four grams of fiber versus the three grams of fiber. Uh-huh. And notice that Good & Gather is not saying anything about how. they're a good source of fiber. They're not leading with that because even at that level… Now, you gotta. get to, if you get to 20%, just, the, the fun fact, you can call yourself an. excellent source of fiber or rich in fiber.

Mm. So the way I see this in level of deception, this is like me saying that I'm. a good source of information about Ohio. I mean, I know… Ask me things about Ohio. What's the capital of Ohio? Columbus? What, what's a city in Ohio? Columbus? And that might be the capital. Akron. I think it's, I think it's, I think it's Columbus, but listen- It is … I'm just. a g- I'm just a good source of information about- I'm not, I'm not, I'm not from there.

You know what I'm saying? I'm not the guy- So- … you're gonna go to about Ohio … feeling good about. asking you about Ohio- Ask me something else … is like feeling good about this. Ask me another Ohi- Ohio fact. What's the, what's the population of Ohio? I have no idea. I'm not a good source of information about Ohio, man. Well, no, you are a good source. You're not- I'm not an excellent source … you're not- I'm not. rich in information about Ohio. Okay? If you want fiber, from a legal standpoint, it has to say, what are the words, Brittany?

Good source is the 10 to 19%. Nope, nope, that sucks. We gotta go above that. So- Rich in, excellent source, or high. Rich in, excellent source, or high in fiber. Those words puts you above what percentage? 20. 20 and above. 20. That's what you're looking for. Again- Good, good in fiber, pointless. Forget about it. This feels more- Don't feel good about that.

This feels more deceptive than the chicken. That's what we're saying. Because- Yes, 'cause it's not- … it's not a lie. It's not- But it's more deceptive. Yeah. It's, you shouldn't be going here for fiber. 'Cause if a doctor tells your grandad that he needs to be eating more fiber and he's. like, "Well, I've got Froot Loops." Exactly. You'd be like, "Grandad, let's sit down and talk about this.". So actually, you just, the switch you just made was incorrect. Yeah, it was. Just testing you. Yeah. There's gotta be some more deceitful things. We'll find out.

Okay, we've got some assorted fruit snacks from Mott's. All right. I'm, I like Mott's 'cause I would always eat their applesauce growing up. Mm-hmm. Mm. And now how are these? Little, they're a little sticky. Maybe it's because they're made with real fruit and veggie juice. Oh, okay. Don't know if I want veggie juice, but… All right. But there's an asterisk up there, Link. Mm-hmm … where does that go?

These fruit-flavored snacks are made with pear, apple, and carrot juice concentrates. See below for a complete list of ingredients. I'll do that. What's- They are not intended to replace fruit or vegetables in the diet … what's. the number one ingredient in these, Link? Is it fruit juice? I would … First of all, if, if, if you're thinking this means you. can replace fruits and vegetables in your diet- Then that's your problem. You're d- you're done for. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I don't think anybody's hoping that, but I do think it might be reasonable. to assume that they're chiefly sweetened from natural, real sources.

And tell me what the number one ingredient is. Corn syrup. Oh. Well, corn is a veggie. Veggie juice from corn, real good for you. I don't think that's what they mean. All right, sec- These are still sugar bombs, guys … second ingredient, sugar. Oh. Sugar is- Corn syrup and then sugar? Sugar is a, is a grain. When do we get to- I don't know. Sugar's a spice?

What is sugar? Well, processed sugar is sugar. Sugar's sugar. So- Third ingredient, modified corn starch. Oh, still in corn. Mm-hmm. We're still in corn. Still in corn town. Then we got pear juice concentrate, apple juice concentrate, carrot juice concentrate. Contains 2% or less of other crap. Okay. Acids. All right. Here's an analogy. This is like your friend borrows your car, and then when he gives it back to. you, he says, "Hey, I washed your car.". What he doesn't tell you is that he also wrecked your car.

So he did something good, but there is something much- Mm-hmm. … worse that you're going to immediately see as soon, as soon as you investigate it. And you're like, "Why are you telling me that you washed my car when you. wrecked it, and that's the thing that you seem to be trying to gloss over? But you can't get that dent out with a sponge." How's that? How's them apples juices in my- That's, that's pretty helpful. But I will counter that with easy open pouches. And your passenger door does still open, but not the driver door anymore.

Not the driver. Hmm. Don't even want that anymore. I've, I've been duped. I feel a little… I, I mean, it gets your hopes up. Well, and can I say- Oh, my car. My car is washed. But there… But it's also very big. So big. Like, they're leading with it. Look, they've got… It's a whole graphic thing in fruit and veggie. But you made a good point that most people are not coming to this. for fruits and vegetables, because you're getting a fruit snack.

You're already in, like, candy. But you feel… I don't feel like this is candy. And especially with that right there, I f- I'm feeling really. good about it, and I shouldn't. So I feel more deceived than with just getting good f- a good source of fiber. This is technically correct. And if your grand- It's just not actually helpful. And if I wrecked your car, you'd be really upset. If your granddad was eating something that wasn't- Yeah … really. fiber, you wouldn't be that upset.

Okay, we've got something I've never heard of before, Hershey's. S'mores Milk Chocolate with Caramel. Yeah, it's, it's supposed to be perfect to actually make a s'more out of it, and. you can see, because it's- Big … and then inside of it, well, there's. a… You can still break them apart. This is kind of exciting for me. Inside of this one you got- I didn't know about this … caramel. Now, mm, they're pretty nice. Now, look at this packaging closely.

Good over a campfire. At the very bottom it says, "Naturally flavored with other natural flavors." Which. is like- Double natural … it sounds like, it sounds like something like a kindergartner. would say if they were just making stuff up. "It's naturally flavored with other natural flavors." Now- Yeah … we don't know-. I think that maybe that's two things. It's naturally flavored, like chocolate, but then there's also. other flavors that are natural. Well- It seems like the whole thing would be kinda natural. Like, this is completely blossomed from nature.

We don't know what is required specifically on how you word things. This is probably coming from some sort of FDA, we know that the FDA has a. regulation on natural flavoring, right? And so, if you have that in there, that doesn't keep you from using something else. So they're not lying, but it's not that everything in there is natural. There is an ingredient in this chocolate called PGPR, which is-. That is the second ingredient.

The first- Polyglycerol … milk chocolate, then PGPR. It says polyglycerol polyricinoleate. Polyricinoleate. Ri- So this is a synthetic emulsifier. Po- polyri- ri- ricinoleate. So po- Poly- To run with an analogy here, Link, this is. like, you start dating this guy. Okay. And you've dated him, like, three or four times, and he's got a nice body. Oh, got a nice body.

Got a nice body, and then you just decide, "I feel like I gotta ask, are you natty. or not?" And then he's like, "Yeah, I'm natty." But then you open up his gym bag, or it's just he leaves it open, and then you see that he's on T. Boy, all these terms. Um, and so and then you're like, "Well, I mean, you said that you're natty, but I don't. think you're natty because you're on T." And he's like, "Yeah, but I'm not, like, always.

on T, and it's like T is kinda natural. Like, T stands for testosterone." Mm. What if he said na- "I'm natty flavored with other. natty ingredients, other natty flavors"? I'm natty with other natty flavors? I'm natty flavored with other natty flavors. Well, well it can't be flavor though, 'cause he's not a food. It's like I'm natty with other natty essence or whatever. It doesn't make… No, it's not true, because he's on T. This, this has. this synthetic emulsifier in here.

But I will say- But it's so small. I mean, you asked. He didn't, he didn't say. He, yeah, he, he just was like, "Oh, well it was on there the whole time.". Like- You … it's really small. I didn't, I didn't- I'm not leading with it … I didn't lean with it. You're, you asked. It was the third or fourth date. I feel like it's kinda down here. No one, no one really cares if you're making s'mores. Natty or not, who cares? Yeah. So I think we're, we're down here 'cause we natty care too much. Yes. That's the proper way to use it, Link. We have our own TV channel called Mythical 24/7.

You can stream it on devices like Roku, Amazon, Vizio, and more. And we just added more throwbacks from our GMM library to our. Throwback Thursday block for you. Mm-hmm. Check it out. See if you know that you've got a device where you can get it at mythical.com/24-7. Next up we have Humm Kombucha. H-U-double M. And boy, that just went on me. Sorry for the spurt. What … This is green and black teas- Ooh … in- Look at that.

That's cool … uh, is it a mango passionfruit flavor? Yes. Right there in the middle, if you take a look under, it says less sugar. Less sugar. Wha- what's the first thing you would think? Less sugar- That this would- … than the other things- Yeah, that I could. buy … that I could reach and buy instead of reaching and buying this. But there again is an asterisk. These asterisks are very helpful. First of all, to say you have less sugar or you're light, all of that, on.

sugar, all of that stuff is regulated. To say less sugar, you have to have 25% less sugar than a referential. amount, s- something ref- Reference version … Yeah, a reference version, something that you can compare it to. And in this case- It has to be 25% less, which is substantial … this is what the. asterisk says, that, "Today's Humm original kombucha flavors, on average, have 30%. less sugar per serving than our previous flavored formulations of Humm Kombucha.".

So this is like if I have a dog that bites, not that I do, maybe I do. Jesus. And then I get a new dog, and you're asking me about the dog. I'm like, "Yeah, this one bites less." But he'll still bite you. He'll still bite you. Be- especially, especially if my previous dog bit everyone. Which, which he does. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's the way Sean gets to know you, you know? He, he- He knows me … he, he bites you a little bit, especially. if you're hugging someone- … in the family or if you have a hat on. Mm. Okay?

I just don't come over anymore. Yeah. I'm too scared. So I, I said, "You have to make a choice, Rhett. It's either me or the dog.". He does not bite people when I am present. Never been over since then. That's, I'm joking. Yeah. He, he hasn't bit you in years. Do we like this? Um, it tastes pretty good. It doesn't need to be sweeter, but it does taste like it's. got some artificial sweetener. I know this is going far afield. Mm. It's got organic apple juice.

The fact that I would have to be completely familiar with the way the FDA determines. this to know what is meant by less sugar. Yeah. The fact that it is less sugar than something we used to make versus it's. more of a diety version amongst your current choices, I feel like that's pretty. deceptive once you dig down into it. I'm not, I'm not happy with them. It's certainly, it's worse than the, than these two because,

this one I don't care about. This one is just saying, saying something they did. They're not actually deceiving you at all. They're just taking credit for something that they didn't decide. It feels like it's in the same- Yeah, we're in the same-. vein … same place here. I just don't love, I, I don't love justifying this with something. that's not really enough to do it. Yeah. I, I think this is- That's worse … this is a little worse to me. That's a very scientific system we have here, and it is, there's a lot. of consequence here because the FDA is going to fine whoever's number one.

Mm. That's a lie. That's a joke. It's not true. They're just hovering over the button right now. Yes. Just to, just to send the fine. All right, we've got some- Some mayo … Best Foods avocado oil mayonnaise dressing. I feel like I've gotten this before, and I've gotten it because my assumption. was it was made with avocado oil, which is not as bad for you as, like, other. types of oil according to people who have opinions about that kind of thing. It's very trendy now because people are starting to do all.

these educational TikToks on oil. Oil. Now, Link, there is an asterisk- I'ma keep eating this … right here. where it says avocado oil, and when you go to the asterisk on the side-. Yes … it says, "Irresistibly rich and creamy with a blend of quality oils.". Okay, you can't put an asterisk next to something and then do a little braggy brag. When I go to… You know what I'm saying? Like, you, you… That doesn't make… This feels like the FDA needs to get into.

regulating the use of asterisks because you can't tell me that you're irresistible. It's saying- I'm about to tell you something that's not true, but this is irresistibly, I'm irresistibly creamy and rich. Mm-hmm. But it's actually a blend of, of, of oils including- And then they don't say, "But. it's actually," they say, "With a blend of quality- Yes … oils." So it's only one oil. It is the first oil. Water, avocado oil, then you got soybean oil, canola oil. Which is what's in all the rest of these mayonnaises.

This is like, you go out on a first date, and you find out that the person that. you're on a date with can speak a foreign language, but then when they begin to. demonstrate, you realize they have halitosis. So does it really matter that you're speaking in French? I want you to keep your mouth shut. I don't wanna hear, I don't wanna hear that. I don't wanna hear that accent. I don't wanna smell it. I don't wanna smell that. I don't wanna smell that accent. And listen, it just, just by comparison here, we've got these fries from.

Jesse & Ben's made with avocado oil, and on the back it says, "In avocado. oil we trust, bec- like our hearts depend on it, and our hearts kinda do.". So they're pushing it hard, but the ingredients are potatoes, avocado oil, and sea salt. No other oils. That's it. That's it. So- I think if you're literally- You can do it … here's a, this. is why I'm personally gonna lobby for this being the most deceptive. Well, the, I mean, it would be, we wouldn't have to move anything. The, that's one reason.

The name of it is the deception. The na- deception is- Oh, yeah … in the name. And then- Oh, it's so big … the asterisk has this humble brag. thing that's happening in it. Yep. We're just offended. We're offended. Yep. And, I, you know- Does it taste good? That's the question. It doesn't taste as good either. It tastes a little strange. It doesn't taste as good as if it didn't have avocado oil? I think it, I think it's 'cause it has some avocado oil. It's definitely in there. Mm-hmm. You can taste it. Known as Hellmann's east of the Rockies, so putting you on notice as well, Hellmann's.

So there you have it. We are not happy with you right now, Best Foods. The deceiter of the pack is the Best Foods Avocado Oil Mayonnaise Dressing. Yeah. We're, we're pulling no punches today. See that? Thanks for commenting and sharing this video. You know what time it is. I'm Simone. And I'm Jenna. And we've been watching you since middle school.

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