Washington, July 4 (ANI): A writer claims to have busted the “myths” behind the claims made by leading brands like Coke and Kentucky Fried Chicken to emphasise the uniqueness of their secret-ingredient-containing products.

William Poundstone, in his book “Big Secrets”, says that laboratory tests can easily reveal what chemicals and ingredients appear in what quantities of a given sample of food.

According to Live Science, Dr. Pepper alleges KFC, for example, is home of the popular blend of “eleven secret herbs and spices,” known only to handful people alive.

But Poundstone, speaking about a laboratory analysis of KFC, said: “The sample of coating mix was found to contain four and only four ingredients: flour, salt, monosodium glutamate, and black pepper. There were no eleven herbs and spices - no herbs at all in fact… Nothing was found in the sample that couldn’t be identified.”

Similarly, Coca-cola’s claims that only two men know the ingredient list stands to speculation as the formula for Coke Classic can be found on page 43 of Poundstone’s book, saying it includes vanilla extract, citrus oils, and lime juice flavoring. (ANI)