jun 30, 1906 - Pure Food and Drug Act

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For over 20 years, Harvey W. Wiley, chief chemist at the Department of Agriculture, tested chemicals added to preserve foods and found many were dangerous to human health. Roosevelt signed a law regulating foods and drugs on June 30, 1906, the same day he signed the Meat Inspection Act. The Pure Food and Drug Act regulated food additives and prohibited misleading labeling of food and drugs. This law led to the formation of the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The two 1906 laws ended up increasing consumer confidence in the food and drugs they purchased, which benefitted these businesses. The laws also acted as a wedge to expand federal regulation of other industries, one of the strategies to control big business pursued by the progressives. The FDA is clearly a highly successful administration as we still use it within the nation today.

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