Should Manufacturers Tell All?

When a specific ingredient may create a life threating situation from using or consuming there is no question--what is in the container should be stated.

One of my favorites was the evolution of the Tide laundry detergent label which read:

Ingredients: Tide contains
ingredients designed to
lift dirt from clothes.

I thought that was simply hilarious -- useless too.

Ingredients: Tide contains
ingredients designed to
lift dirt from clothes. (surf-
-actants)

I liked the two hyphens. That label eventually yielded again, perhaps to the demands from the market place, or embarrassment, but more likely another regulating body.

Ingredients: Tide contains
ingredients designed to
lift dirt from clothes. (ionic
and non ionic surfactants)
and leave clothes smelling
fresh and clean.

Ingredients: Purified Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Phosphoric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavors.

Which could be any of 1000 types of soda-pop -- As for Coke keeping their secret formula, well it is their formula, a mass spectrometer can say if there is anything dangerous in there, bet even if there is... if they can certify that it was obtained from legit methods, I'd say "Tough!" to the *regulators* life is a dangerous game.

What scares me it that the gumming would then be able to blackmail Coke into revealing their trade secrets... from there it's a slippery slope to nationalized everything. Then we'll be eating used food... "It's good for the economy, and it's not that bad for you." ;^)