The origins of the Food and Drug Administration can be traced back to 1862, when President Lincoln appointed chemist Charles M. Wetherill to head the Chemical Division in the new US Department of Agriculture.
In 1883, Harvey W. Wiley became the chief of the division as it grew into the Bureau of Chemistry in 1901. He focused his attention and efforts on chemically altered foods and food additives and their impact on health, which he believed was a greater public health threat than fraudulent or misbranded drugs.
The bureau modern regulatory functions began with the passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act. The act was a response to revelations of false claims for adulterated and dangerous patent medicines.
In 1927 Congress authorized the formation of the Food, Drug and Insecticide Administration from the regulatory wing of the Bureau of Chemistry; the name of the agency was shortened to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1930.
Pesticide residues began to be problem in the 1920s. In 1938, the stronger Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act – still the nation’s governing statue – replaced the 1906.
In 1940 FDA moved from Department of Agriculture to the Federal Security Agency then to the Departments of Health, and Welfare and Health and Human Services.
History of US Food and Drug Administration
Food safety can be defined as the “the avoidance of food borne pathogens, chemical toxicants and physical hazards, but also includes issues of nutrition, food quality and education.” The focus is on “microbial, chemical or physical hazards from substances than can cause adverse consequences.”
The Most Popular Posts
-
Botulism, a rare but serious paralytic illness, can present in three main clinical forms: infant botulism (IB), foodborne botulism (FBB), an...
-
Botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by a neurotoxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum . This disease is marked by a ...
-
Artificial flavor enhancers are widely used in the food industry to improve the taste of processed foods. However, there are notable health...
-
Food Sanitation: Construction of Kitchen Area The surfaces of benches and tables in food preparation areas should be of stainless steel of p...
-
Foodborne intoxications, the most common cause of food poisoning outbreaks, occur when during their growth, specific pathogenic bacteria rel...