Is it Food?

Or is it a "food product"?

Faced with a bewildering array of substances that may or may not be good for our bodies, we find ourselves scratching our heads. Increasingly, the answer to the question 'Is it food?' is 'I’m not sure.'

According to this article, there are many clues to determine if it is food or not.

1. Economic clues: "Food may be expensive, but it rarely brings outrageous profits to those who produce it. Food products, on the other hand, bring enormous, occasionally obscene profit to manufacturers."

2. Visually: Food has little/no packaging like this:

while food products are wrapped in cardboard, plastic, foil, graphics, like this:

3. Historically: Was it available before 1903, the year hydrogenation was patented?

Their simplest solution the the dilemma, however, is this: "Simply avoid anything that's advertised."