A lot of products (including things that have been otherwise unchanged for decades) have had their preservatives changed or removed due to them not being "natural" enough. The times they are replaced with an alternative, they are often not as effective.
People forget why these preservatives were added to begin with, that many natural items often do not last very long..........
It also doesn't help that most things are packaged in plastic now a days rather than metal or glass. A metal can or a glass bottle will preserve something far longer than plastic. The irony of course is more food waste........
Sometimes the common practices of decades ago (like returning soda pop bottles for refilling rather than just recycling), are much more green than what is seen as "green" today.