Pure Food And Drug Act

The pure food and drug act of 1906 is a federal law that mandates for the inspection of meat products and forbids the sales manufacturing or transportation of poisonous patent medicines and adulterated food products.

Pure food and drug act. It was the first federal law to regulate food and drugs in interstate commerce paving the way for stricter regulation and more transparency in the food and drug industry. Bureau of chemistry to inspect products and refer offenders to prosecutors. The pure food and drugs act of 1906 is often considered the first if vaccines aren t included of many us laws enacted to protect the public s health from ineffective or dangerous drugs. Muckraking journalists had long reported on the appallingly unsanitary conditions of the country s manufacturing plants especially those in chicago s meat packing industry.

The pure food and drugs act was enacted in 1906 by president theodore roosevelt after decades of bills to regulate food and drugs were unsuccessfully introduced in congress. The fda didn t exist at that point and the provisions of this act were enforced by the bureau of chemistry of the department of agriculture. Its main purpose was to ban foreign and interstate traffic in adulterated or mislabeled food and drug products and it directed the u s. Image courtesy of the library of congress the pure food and drug act was a centerpiece of progressive reforms in the early 20th century.

A law passed in 1906 to remove harmful and misrepresented foods and drugs from the market and regulate the manufacture and sale of drugs and food involved in interstate trade. House of representatives 240 to 17. It required that active ingredients be placed on the label of a drug s pack.