July 3, 2006 -- Federal FDA, USDA Mark 100th Anniversaries

Two federal laws that were enacted in 1906 are celebrating their 100th anniversaries this year. The Food and Drugs Act of June 30, 1906, created the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the oldest consumer protection agency in the United States with responsibility for assuring the safety of food, human and veterinary drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics. In a resolution passed in June, Congress noted that the FDA "has been a pioneer in promoting the health and safety of citizens in the United States" and around the world. Also marking a 100th anniversary this year is the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA), which is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Signed into law by then-President Theodore Roosevelt on the same day as the FDA legislation, the FMIA is charged with inspecting meat products and assuring that slaughter houses and processing plants are operated under sanitary conditions. Impetus for the two laws is generally credited to books such as Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, published in the early 1900s that exposed conditions in food, drug, and cosmetics industries and in meat processing plants.