NUTRITION 105 



unfair advertising are discouraged, especially that of making disparaging 

 statements about the wares of competing firms. . . . 



The work of the Council on Foods and that of the councils supported 

 by the American Medical Association for the consideration of drugs and 

 of apparatus for physical therapy necessitates the employment of a staff 

 of thirty-seven secretaries. The salaries of these secretaries, together with 

 the necessary expense for office space and facilities, are assumed by the 

 American Aledical Association, whose burden is further increased by the 

 fact that much advertising is lost to its publications because of products 

 which fail to meet the standards set by these Councils, and which con- 

 sequently are not permitted to advertise in any of its journals. No re- 

 muneration of any kind is received by the members of the Councils, and 

 the charge that the Councils ever are influenced in deciding on a product 

 by whether or not it is advertised in these journals is false. No single mem- 

 ber of these councils would continue to serve if there were the faintest 

 truth in such an allegation. The idea is preposterous. 



In addinon to passing on submitted products, the Council reserves the 

 privilege of publishing informative statements about foods of any kind, 

 whether or not these are eligible for consideration or have been sub- 

 mitted. The privilege, as a general rule, is exercised only in the case of 

 firms whose advertising is flagrantly deceptive.* An example cited by the 

 Council was "Ovaltine," manufactured by the Wander Company of 

 Chicago. In the issue of December 1 2, 193 1, of the Journal of the American 

 Medical Associatioji appeared a report by the Council from which I 

 have taken the following excerpts: 



The advertising claims made for "Ovaltine" were that it was a "Swiss food dis- 

 covery" and "a scientific food concentrate containing in highly concentrated 

 form practically every single food element necessary for life" . . . "recom- 

 mended by 20,000 physicians the world over ... as a building and restorative 

 food for convalescents and invalids, for stomach disorders and feeble digestion, 

 for nervous and run-down conditions, as a means of inducing calm, restful sleep." 



It was claimed furthermore, and I can cite only a tenth of these claims, 

 that " 'Ovaltine' actually makes children want to eat more — and increases 

 the nourishment and digestibihty of every bite they take." 



The product, as advertised, was a concentrated form of malt, milk and 

 eggs flavored with cocoa. The Council (then the Committee) found 

 "Ovaltine" to be "an example of the way in which our recognized foods 

 are exploited like 'patent medicines' to credulous and ignorant people." 

 Here is the emphasis on impaired digestion, sleeplessness and nervousness; 

 here again are the pseudo-scientific claims, here again are the exploitation 

 of a foreign chemist and the mystery associated with the type of ad- 

 vertising that was used to build "Santogen," the glorified cottage cheese, 

 into America's most popular nerve tonic, more than a decade ago. 



• The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. — Ed. 



