Whenever a food packager puts a picture of a product on a package, if there is anything other than the product itself in the picture, there will always be a "Serving Suggestion" notice appended somewhere on the package. I understand what it means. It means that my box of Carr's Assorted Biscuits for Cheese is just the biscuits. The pretty pictures of canapes made from Carr's biscuits using various cheeses and other goodies are just ideas for what one can do with the things. The cheeses, tomato wedges and bean sprouts aren't in the box. Just biscuits.

What I want to know is who has such a low opinion of the human intellect that they feel it's necessary to tell us that the pictures are merely serving suggestions? Is it the packagers themselves, or the usual government bureucracy? Who is it that thinks the picture of a syrup-laden stack of pancakes on a syrup bottle needs a "serving suggestion" disclaimer so I won't think there are pancakes in the bottle too?

Somebody out there thinks we're idiots! Who is it?