Label Logic (1968)

[Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. A recent California test of a carefully selected group of women shoppers turned up some very interesting results. Let me explain quickly what it's all about. As the late President Kennedy once said, "If consumers are offered inferior products, if prices are exorbitant, if drugs are unsafe and worthless, if the consumer is unable to choose on an informed basis, then his dollar is wasted, his health and safety may be threatened, and the national interest suffers." These five women, all college graduates and experienced shoppers, were given a list of 14 items used regularly in the average American home. And here's what they were told to do. We want each of you to select the 14 items on your list, choosing on an informed basis and picking the package which represents to you the greatest value for your money. [Music] These women were in for some big surprises. In the first place, the ladies found that the 14 items were in 246 different packages. Plain white rice alone was packed 14 different ways. Even when shopping with a list like our ladies, consumers are influenced by many factors. Some are conditioned largely by the price. The specials and bargains attract them like a magnet. Others are swayed by advertising. Few shoppers can resist the pull of a big brightly colored sign or the word new. But choosing on an informed basis or intelligent buying is finally influenced through reading the label. The label is the manufacturer's method of communicating with the consumer and the consumer's method of evaluating the quality and quantity of the product. If there were no labels, there could be no communication between producer and consumer and absolutely no basis for intelligent choice. But as these ladies found, labels must be not only carefully read, but also clearly understood. Surprisingly, only 36 of the total 70 choices of these five women were correct. In other words, the test demonstrated a 50% margin of error. This young shopper avoided one of the most common mistakes of the ladies by carefully comparing the weight and the price. Calculating the weight to price ratio is essential in determining true value. Labeling is governed by the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act. These laws stipulate that the label must tell the truth about the product. In designing labels, the artist guided by the manufacturer must design the labels according to the provisions of these laws. Food labels, for example, must give the common name of the product so you know exactly what it is. Must list the ingredients of all foods which do not have an established standard of identity. so you know exactly what it contains. Must state the quantity of contents so you know exactly how much you're getting. And must also give the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor so you know with whom you are dealing. This information protects the consumer's right to know what he's buying. If the product is imitation, the label must clearly say so. The consumer may prefer the imitation product. By reading the label, he should be able to make that choice. Products must not be marketed under misleading or deceptive names. If you were to buy a syrup called Vermont made, you would naturally think that it was made with syrup from Vermont, the maple syrup capital of the world. This is, but sometimes such a name may merely be a clever coverup. Further, the listing of the ingredients must not be misleading or deceptive. It should be easy to read without a magnifying glass, and the main ingredients should be listed first, lesser ingredients last. In designing labels, this must always be taken into account. We are more used to saying pork and beans than beans and pork. But the lettering size of this label indicates, as it should, that the product is mostly beans, not pork. Also, the net contents must be stated both in the larger measures of volume and weight and also in the smaller units as in this label. This would help you to make pricetoweight comparisons and determine value. Drug labels in addition to the common name, quantity of content, and place of business of manufacturer, packer, or distributor must also list the active ingredients. Drug labels must also give adequate directions stating how to use them. The directions should also help you answer the important question, should I see a doctor? Many drugs may be harmful if used without a physician's supervision. These can be sold only on a prescription. A prescription is as personal as your name and is based on factors of age, height, weight, and your general health. All prescription drug labels must contain the statement, "Caution: Federal law prohibits dispensing without prescription. For the guidance of the physician, the package must contain complete directions and warnings and information about any possible side effects. When you receive the prescribed medication, it should include simple directions for you telling you exactly how to take or use it. Federal law now requires labels on hazardous household items such as cleaners, solvents, pest poisons, and so on. The label must tell users what the hazards or dangers are, how to avoid them, and what to do if accidental injury occurs. Reading this may be worth your life or that of someone else. It is the job of the United States Food and Drug Administration of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to make certain that products are labeled according to the law. The FDA's work as the power behind the law is our answer of assurance to the question, can I trust the accuracy of the label to protect the consumer? Standards of identity, quality, and fill of container have been established on many foods. This chemist is applying the first, the standard of identity, to these jams and jellies. Through this test, he can determine if these jellies have been boiled down enough to remove excess water and so conform to the standard for jams and jellies. The standard is intended to define what the consumer expects to receive when selecting the product by its common or usual name as stated on the label. The standard of quality is the second food standard set for a number of canned fruits and vegetables and establishes specifications for such quality factors as tenderness and color. In this test for the tenderness of peaches, pressure is applied to the peach in the form of weight through the controlled dripping of mercury at a specified rate. Crushing or penetration is reckoned at the point where the metal plunger sinks through at least 75% of the thickness of the peach. The standard of quality is also applied to the color of certain products through the color wheel. If these tomatoes, for example, had been picked too green, this test would eliminate them. Substandard foods may still be good food with high nutritional value, but the essential idea behind the standard of quality is to ensure that the product is acceptable and pleasing to the consumer to you. The third kind of food standard is the standard of fill of container. This standard protects the consumer from buying air or water or space at the price of food. And it also protects from overfilling which as seen here can cause damage to the product. But the FDA is not only concerned with the quality of our foods but also with its safety and sanitation. Intravenous solution is being checked visually for impurities such as dust, mold, and glass fragments. Another chemist examines a carbonated soft drink. This method of visual examination is known as candling. Sometimes the test is one of smell, not sight. A trained technician can accurately detect shrimp that are just beginning to spoil. Of course, there are other confirming scientific tests for food sanitation. This is one such test designed to detect the impurities that are heavy such as bits of bone or metal, glass fragments, maggots, and fly eggs. The product is first poured into the separatory funnel, then mixed with gas, shaken thoroughly, diluted with water, shaken again, and then allowed to settle. Every 15 minutes, the sediment is drained off the bottom and prepared for microscopic analysis to determine the possible presence of any impurities. A tiny maggot like this looks like this when magnified a 100 times. And so FDA scientists using modern methods are policing our food supply. They are also trying to keep up with the amazing recent drug developments. closely and carefully checking the purity and potency of our drugs. The drugs used in these pills have known specified crystal properties or patterns. Under microscopic analysis, pure drugs will conform to these precise patterns. With the aid of this artificial stomach, FDA scientists are able to check the rate of disintegration of various kinds of tablets. Suppose for example you took an aspirin to relieve a headache and it didn't dissolve immediately. It could not bring you fast relief. If however it dissolved like this, it could go to work immediately. Other tablets should disintegrate only in the stomach or intestines where they're intended to work. The rate at which they dissolve is also tested. One tablet tested took 10 hours to dissolve. Some never do. This bacteriologist is checking the sterility of solutions used for injections. Under aseptic conditions, he inoculates the test solution into vials filled with growth media to allow any living bacteria to grow. Of course, if present, viable bacteria will thrive well in the controlled atmosphere of the incubator. And so, the bacteriologist places the vials there for a set time and at a set temperature. [Applause] Later the samples are extracted and checked for any trace of contamination. Obviously the first rack contains all clear or good samples. In the second rack, however, there are some contaminated samples, the clouded ones. The percentage of contaminated samples is usually low. The work of the FDA and other federal, state, and local agencies and their enforcement of labeling regulations protects the American consumer from unsafe and unsanitary products. Should such products get through, they may be seized and removed from the market by court order. If they cannot be relabeled or otherwise reconditioned, they may be destroyed. Those responsible for shipment of such goods may be prosecuted criminally. However, the large majority of American food manufacturers are producing the safest, cleanest, and most informatively labeled items ever available to the public. But the individual must still read the label. These directions stipulate clearly adults one tablet before meals. Yet this young man is taking two, not one. No product can ever be used correctly and safely unless you read and heed the label. This young man also disregarded the warning on the label which states clearly, "Caution, if drowsiness occurs, do not drive. He should have read the label. Carelessness doesn't pay, it [Music] costs. Many items in the average American home are in aerosol cans under pressure, like the hairspray this young lady is using. These cans are so convenient. But where should they be stored? Not in direct sunlight, but as the label directs, keep in cool place. And this inquisitive young investigator must have his counterpart in many American homes. For every year, 500,000 children accidentally swallow drugs and household chemicals such as polishes, cleaning agents, detergents, and solvents. And 500 of them die. about 300 from aspirin alone. Keep out of reach of children should be interpreted as keep under lock and key. Carelessness costs. Read and heed the label. Remember the logic of the label. Reading and understanding the label will protect you and your family and will make you an intelligent buyer. The label should tell you these things about the product you are buying. What it is and how much there is, what it contains, and with whom you are dealing. Labels of drugs and cosmetics containing drugs must include directions and warnings which should tell you how to use it safely, when not to use [Music] it, when to stop using it, and when to see a doctor. Intelligent buying leads to confident buying. Exercise your right of intelligent free choice. Read the label.