Too many preservatives?

Factual Questions
#1

While standing in line at Krispy Kreme for a much-needed donut fix yesterday, I overheard the two guys talking about how Krispy Kremes are superior than Brand X donuts because KK’s don’t have preservatives.

One guy says, “Americans eat so many preservatives in their food that it takes their corpses longer to decay than it did two hundred years ago.”

I wanted to turn around and ask “Cite?” but I thought I’d turn to my fellow Dopers. Anyone have any evidence to back up or refute this claim?

#2

I wouldn’t think it’s preservatives that prevent decay, it’s all that embalming fluid that gets used on most Western corpses.

#3

I’ve heard that before, and I’ve heard it debunked, but I don’t have a cite. It might have been here - have you tried a search? Maybe “decomposing” and “preservatives”.