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Ese producto tiene puros conservantes.

Ese producto tiene puros conservantes.
That product has nothing but preservatives.
From Lesson 457:Emphatic exclusivity (puro)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Ese producto tiene puros conservantes.

Doesn't puros usually mean 'pure'? How does it translate to 'nothing but' here?
In Latin America, placing puro (or its variations) directly before a noun is a very common way to emphasize exclusivity. Instead of just saying 'only' (solo), it strongly stresses that the item is entirely made up of that one thing. You can translate it as 'purely', 'all', or 'nothing but'.
If it translates to the phrase 'nothing but', why is it plural (puros) instead of just the fixed word puro?
Because puros is still functioning as an adjective here, not an adverb. That means it must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. Since conservantes is a masculine, plural noun, the adjective must be puros.
Could I use solo instead of puros to say the same thing?
Yes, you could say Ese producto solo tiene conservantes. However, using puros is much more expressive. It is a favorite in casual Latin American speech when you want to exaggerate or complain that something is overwhelmingly made of one specific thing.
I always want to use the word preservativos for preservatives. Is that understood?
It will be understood, but likely with a laugh! This is a classic 'false friend'. In Spanish, un preservativo means a condom. To talk about chemicals that preserve food, you must use conservantes (or conservadores, which is also very common in countries like Mexico).

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