False advertising Rant

Any body have a problem with what's ON a food package/can and what's INSIDE.

I just sent a "go to" email to a major food corporation concerning their chili. The picture on the can was chili, no doubt. The contents "might" go as chili sauce.

We'll see what happens.

Years ago that brand was locally produced and was a value. Today, with big corporate business in the loop just looks like a place to make money. I mean, you don't know what's in the package till you open it. But this stuff, every can is the same.

So the caveat is that what IS in the can is delicious. So you just use it for sauce in mexican dishes.

In reality you can't beat the price, even for chili sauce. $1.25 for a 15ish oz can. However it has been about that price for years and considering our "non existent" inflation, getting what's on the label would be worth $2 a can anyway.

Mark

Must be talking about Wolf Brand. Used to be the best, wouldn't even make good dog food now.

You sir are a smart man.

Mark

That wolf brand chili must be a Texan thing. I read on a fiction story web site. There is one writer there from East Texas that writes about Wolf brand chili in every single one of his stories. It is like caviar the way he writes about it.

Just about any "canned" chili I have ever tasted is terrible compared to homemade.

I agree. I get a desire for good chili when I see a can of Wolf Brand. It is not what it used to be.
DON TX

Bought my last can of brown water two years ago.Never again. Sure not what it used to be.

Have you ever gotten a hamburger at any of the major hamburger places (Whataburger, McDonald"s, Burger King, Sonic, Dairy Queen, etc) that even came close to the ones they show in their ads?

Back when I was a kid, (late 50's, early 60's) every Friday night was "hotdog night". Wolf Brand chili poured over open face buns and fresh weiners from the butcher shop. Topped off with chopped green onions and grated cheddar cheese with Fritos on the side.
I haven't had Wolf Brand in years so don't know how it is these days. Always make homemade chili now.

I"m no fan of canned chili but have no problem with companies if they are succesful selling it.
As to how the product evolved over the years,you can be certain it was in response to customer"s taste and profitability. Most food is regional so what"s highly regarded in one area might be totaly unecceptical in another. Barbecue and barbeque sauce is a well known example. I like the citizens of Minnesota but I wager that the majarioty of southerners will agree thier bread is a poor excuse for food.

Never did see a can of chili worth bringing home. I have been making my own forever. Maybe a little more inconvenient, but worth the extra effort for taste. I make a big batch and freeze the leftovers in serving size portions.

History:

In 1895, a Mexican range cook working for Lyman T. Davis of Corsicana, Texas developed the original recipe for Wolf Brand Chili. It became popular so Mr. Davis began to sell it for five cents a bowl from the back of a wagon parked on the streets in downtown Corsicana, usually in front of the Blue Front Saloon. He owned a meat market in Corsicana where he sold his chili in brick form, using the brand name of Lyman"s Famous Chili. In 1921, using the simplest machinery, he began canning his chili and marketing it in the immediate area. It was about that time that he adopted the brand name "Wolf Brand," a name suggested to him in honor of his pet wolf, Kaiser Bill. By 1923, with improved equipment, Davis had increased production to 2,000 cans of chili per day. Because of the discovery of oil on his ranch, he had neither the time nor the interest to devote to his chili business, and in 1924 he sold his operations to J. C. West and Fred Slauson, two Corsicana businessmen. The new owners modernized production and introduced new marketing techniques. Among the most successful innovations introduced by West and Slauson was a Model T Ford truck with a cab shaped like a can and painted to resemble the Wolf Brand label. A live wolf was caged in the back of the truck. The vehicle not only provided practical transportation for company salesmen but also was an effective traveling advertisement for their products. During World War II, with partner Fred and son James in the Air Force, J. C. sent a case of chili and tamales without charge to any service person whose name was sent to him. Many soldiers have shared memories of heating the chili in their helmets on the battle fronts of Europe. In 1954 the company expanded into interstate markets, having previously distributed its products only in Texas. In 1957 Quaker Oats of Chicago purchased Wolf Brand from then owners Doyle and James West, sons of J. C. West. Quaker Oats continued to operate the Corsicana plant, streamlining Davis"s original recipe. In 1977 Wolf Brand, along with other chili manufacturers, successfully lobbied the Texas legislature to have chili proclaimed the official "state food" of Texas. In an effort to consolidate its operations, Quaker Oats closed the Corsicana plant in 1985 and merged its operations with another subsidiary, Stokley-Van Camp, in Dallas. It was a sadly unpopular move for the community.

No mam, but THAT is another rant.

Mark

Well they have moved again now under an agricultural conglomerate....name is on the can. Easy to see how the meat made an exit over the years.

Oh well, life is a beach and then you die.

Mark

SWMBO and I were talking over supper the other day about a box of fish filets she had just heated up. It was Van de Cramps or something, and had four filets in it. The box was about 4" x 8" x 8", and the fish filets were about 1" x 3" x 3". Lot of box and not much product. And, if you took the breading off the fish, it wasn't much fish, either. At least, you can still get a can of sardines and get "truth in advertizing".

What the heck is Whataburger??? Lol

Like a bag of potato chips, 1/4 product and 3/4s air. But, I know some settling may have occurred!!!!

For absolutely the best chili ever, cut up all your excess tomatoes at the end of the summer, make as much chili as you have tomatoes for, and freeze it in bags. Fresh tomatoes give it a whole different, fresher flavor than canned ones.

To keep it from scorching on an electric range, put four straight pieces of baling wire on the burner, then the pot on top of the wire- gives just enough space that the tomatoes won't scorch while you're cooking them down.

Whataburger is a burger chain in mostly TX

Years ago I bought a Big Mac in Tokyo that actually looked like the pictures. It had a little cardboard collar around it so the top could not slide off before the customer got it. There were McDonalds everywhere. I stood on a street corner in Ikebukuro and looking in 3 directions could see 3 McDonalds.

Well sir, the picture on the can and the contents are as much alike as a moonless night and day. I guarantee you it had absolutely nothing to do with nutrition nor taste, not customer preference, nor recommendation. Pure marketing and profiteering.

Course now, to keep it legal, with the illegal (fradulent) label on the front, the back side of the label identifies the main ingredient as water! Water for the main ingredient in chili? I don't think so. Chili sauce, yes.

Mark

Nancy I would say Sonic comes real close. We had one down the street when we lived in Enid, OK. They are now popping up around Indianapolis. Still a real good burger. Dairy Queen near our house is also good.

Mark, Really? My experience with False Advertising was an on line date. She looked nothing like her pic. I want to say that only happened once. SOOOOO really Mark, do you want to talk about chili or Real False ADVERTISING?
George

Sounds to me like he should have left the whole operation in the hands of the Mexican that developed the recipe and rightfully should be credited financially as well as in name recognition.

Greedy buzzards will always screw things up.

(quoted from post at 20:33:21 03/25/13)
Sounds to me like he should have left the whole operation in the hands of the Mexican that developed the recipe and rightfully should be credited financially as well as in name recognition.

Greedy buzzards will always screw things up.

Click to expand...

How in the hell would you market, "Mexican Brand Chili" back in the day and what would you do with the wolf?

By the way, it's been a long time since you could buy a good can of wolf brand chili. Been a long time since you could get a "Carpenter's" hamburger in Corsicana too. Since Sonny passed away, even that ain't the same.

Corsicana is still on the map with all the fruit cakes here though...thanks to Collins Street Bakery.

(quoted from post at 12:43:27 03/25/13)

(quoted from post at 20:33:21 03/25/13)
Sounds to me like he should have left the whole operation in the hands of the Mexican that developed the recipe and rightfully should be credited financially as well as in name recognition.

Greedy buzzards will always screw things up.

Click to expand...

How in the hell would you market, "Mexican Brand Chili" back in the day and what would you do with the wolf?

By the way, it's been a long time since you could buy a good can of wolf brand chili. Been a long time since you could get a "Carpenter's" hamburger in Corsicana too. Since Sonny passed away, even that ain't the same.

Corsicana is still on the map with all the fruit cakes here though...thanks to Collins Street Bakery.

Click to expand...

Name it what you want, but at least the original recipe is what folks liked and you wouldn't all be bitchin about the product the oil baron and major producers are putting out now. Then again, I guess it's got to be bigger in Texas.

I thought about the fruit cake before I scanned your full comments
and saw it as part of them. Giving a Collin Street Bakery Fruit Cake
to friends and family was a tradition around my house for many
years.

Mark

Well George sir, my wife of 48 years died. About 2 months later I decided I was not going to live alone.

I hooked up with eHarmony.com and found a darlin country gal just right up the road about 20 miles.

I had the first date with her after a couple of months on the computer and I decided I wanted to share my life with her HAVING NOT SEEN HER AS SHE DIDN'T POST A PICTURE.

That was 2 1/2 years ago and she is sitting beside me as I type this.

Mark

King Oscar Norwegian sardines have been around for over 100 years. Small and delicately smoked, double layered, in olive oil. Only kind of sardine I will eat on today's market. Yes the can is plum full of them.

I eat them with Grey Poupon and Nabisco Premium crackers.

Mark

It and the Texas Dairy Queen franchise burgers are probably the best general fast food burgers.

Mark

Well Mark, we have more in common than you think. My wife died 1 year and 1 day before 9-11-01. She was 52.

The ones that posted a pic was really a bad case of false advetising. The one that didn't post a pic was a keeper.

George

Thank you for the history Gregg - that was really interesting and I appreciate that you took the time to write that.

About a year ago I wrote to the company that makes hot pockets, explaining how they could save thousands of dollars in ink and printing costs by making the product on the package actually look like the item enclosed inside.
Ever notice a tuna fish can these days? About 1/3 thinner than they were years ago.
A pound bag of candy now only weighs 14oz if you're lucky
That's one form of inflation that will never show up in government statistics.

I didn't write that. I found it online and copy and pasted. Thanks anyway.

(quoted from post at 04:54:05 03/25/13) Any body have a problem with what's ON a food package/can and what's INSIDE.

I just sent a "go to" email to a major food corporation concerning their chili. The picture on the can was chili, no doubt. The contents "might" go as chili sauce.

We'll see what happens.

Years ago that brand was locally produced and was a value. Today, with big corporate business in the loop just looks like a place to make money. I mean, you don't know what's in the package till you open it. But this stuff, every can is the same.

So the caveat is that what IS in the can is delicious. So you just use it for sauce in mexican dishes.

In reality you can't beat the price, even for chili sauce. $1.25 for a 15ish oz can. However it has been about that price for years and considering our "non existent" inflation, getting what's on the label would be worth $2 a can anyway.

Mark

Click to expand...

Go to the Cheaper Than Dirt site if you want to see a false advertising deal. It should say "Higher Than Sh@t".

Great. On a score of 1-100 I estimated she'd score at least 95 not knowing what the missed 5 would be.

You know as well as I, fishing for a woman on the internet can be tricky business, especially for a senior. Knowing what you want is another. Knowing what she really wants is a problem. Knowing what both of you can tolerate is yet another.

I guess I was lucky. The first 10 days on the site, I got 65 hits from gals within 50 miles and I live in the country. Funny how fast you can brouse through them when they live in town and are looking for a sugar daddy of some sort, are still supporting their grown kids with kids, have this professional ambition when you are looking for a gal retired, and on and on.

Mark

I don't have a problem with chips. The weight is clearly stated on the front and that's nothing but chips, cooking oil, and salt.

Back before they figured out that pumping up the bag was a good idea, you couldn't buy a bag of p-chips that weren't half smashed. I applaud the industry for that correction.

Mark

My friend just bought a tow strap. It said tow strap on the box and looked like a two strap through the plastic window. After opening, the directions said "not to be used for towing".