The food and drug administration (fda) was created as a governmental entity in the United States by virtue of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act passed during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt. Health problems caused by impure foods had plagued the country since its inception, with both imported and locally produced items responsible for a variety of poisoning incidents. The publication in 1906 of Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle, which documented conditions in the meatpacking industry, was also influential. That book, though dedicated to exposing the harsh working conditions for immigrants, was largely received by the American public as a message about food safety.

The first national law concerning pure food had been passed in 1848 during the Mexican War. However, the growing sophistication ...