Chemicals? In *My* Burger?
COMPLAINT FORM
Mr Matthew Holloway [Male]
Age: 25-34
27th November 2008
COMPLAINT REGARDING: Chicken Burger
COMPANY: Burger Edge Australia
Dear ACCC [Australia Fair Advertising],
When visiting the beautiful state of New South Wales I found myself heading home after a long night drinking past a takeaway bar called Burger Edge and their advertisement of “chemical free chicken” burgers. A similar claim is currently made on their website which reads “Burger Edge’s uses 100% chemical and hormone free chicken breast” which can be found here http://www.burgeredge.com/be_menuchicken.asp
I was wary of the next day’s oncoming hangover and thought I should probably eat something, and as a vegetarian this meal item intrigued me. Would it be possible to eat a chicken burger without the chicken chemicals? I purchased one and took it home to my hotel room only to be shocked at what I discovered… chemicals! The chicken breast was composed almost entirely of chemicals (some that I could see with the naked eye). It smelt like chicken. It was moist and dihydrogen monoxide came steaming off it. It was delicious.
I went back to complain but they had closed and as I had a flight back home the next day this was never resolved. I felt ripped off. Your site reads: “Whether labels are required by law, or are voluntary, they must accurately reflect the product contents because consumers depend on this information to make informed and better choices”. I could not agree more, and I hope that you will prosecute this company to the full extent of the law.
Please contact me if you have further questions.
Best Regards,
Matthew Holloway
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Now while that email was a joke it’s got a tiny molecule of truth in it. This ludicrous “chemical free” advert is not a isolated incident but a trend in advertising and public understanding. Here in New Zealand we have street adverts from Phoenix Juice that read “Don’t Drink Science“, and on the Phoenix site they say “Our water source has been tested and proven free of chemicals” (source).
The word “chemical” is now synonymous with poison.
I was stirred to write that letter to the ACCC after reading this from the Royal Society for Chemistry:
The Royal Society of Chemistry is today reclaiming the word chemical from the advertising and marketing industries.
It has been misappropriated and maligned as synonymous with “poison”. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) recently defended an advert which perpetuated the myth that natural compounds are free of chemicals.
The truth, as any right-minded person will say, is that everything we eat, drink, drive, play with and live in is made of chemicals – both natural and synthetic chemicals are essential for life as we know it.
If, as the ASA says, the public believes materials can be “100% chemical free”, the RSC will soon be inundated with examples from people wishing to claim the £1 million pound bounty announced today by the RSC. (source)
That’s right – a £1 million pound prize for anyone who can advance science by producing chemical free materials. Like the James Randi Institute’s $1 Million dollar prize for proof of the paranormal it’s also about providing an easy response against ludicrous claims… “well then, why don’t you go claim the $1 million dollar bounty?”
The negative associations being created around “chemicals” and “science” are a subtle trend in advertising and public understanding. Perhaps like reclaiming the word “hacker” it’s a lost cause.
Still, it does annoy me.
December 12th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
To quote (or perhaps butcher) The Simpsons: “Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, we wouldn’t have water. A major component of beer.”