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The Pure Food and Drug Act, passed by Congress in 1906 and put into effect January 1, 1907, forced manufacturers to truthfully label their products, and paved the way for the eventual creation of the Food and Drug Administration. A New York Times headline on January 13th, 1907 declared "The Mask Torn Off Adulterated Groceries and Confections - Confessions of New Labels Are Startling in Their Frankness." With considerable appall the article describes a "housekeeper" as "disconcerted and somewhat disgusted" by her new knowledge of what she and her family had been eating. The product she formerly knew as Strawberry Jam was now labeled as "45 percent of apple juice, 48 percent of corn syrup, and 1 percent of coloring matter and flavor." No strawberries.

Maple syrup? "30 per cent cane syrup, 70 per cent corn syrup."

Of course now we call this "Pancake Syrup" and it contains "Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Cellulose Gum, Caramel Color, Salt, Sodium Benzoate and Sorbic Acid (Preservatives), Artificial and Natural Flavors, Sodium Hexametaphosphate" (Aunt Jemima).

Strawberry Jam now contains "Strawberries, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Sugar, Fruit Pectin, Citric Acid." (Smucker’s) And although one cup of fresh strawberries has 136% of your daily value of Vitamin C, Smucker's Strawberry Jam has no Vitamin C whatsoever.

We’ve been struggling with food manufacturers trying to pass off cheap imitations as the real thing for over 100 years, and product labeling has not solved the problem.