How Did The Pure Food And Drug Act Of 1906

The Federal Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906
The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, was a result of unsanitary conditions reported by journalist, more specifically in the meat packaging industry. After the publication of Sinclair, the Congress would prevent “manufacturing or selling misbranded foods and liquors.” Although the bill was unconsidered, Representative James Mann of Illinois persuaded with his speech about a poisonous red dye on the fruit. After continued debate, the House approved the conference report on June 29th and the President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drug Act the next day.
Samuel Hopkins Adams noticed the hazards of the marketplace. Behind the food and drug law was a very disturbing condition of the meat
The law was focused on the product labeling, this means that the law instead of checking the product would check for the ingredients on the label. If the label showed any variation on the label, only then the drugs could be sold if the drug had any variation from the standards as defined in the United States Pharmacopoeia. Otherwise, drugs defined according to the national formulary in regards to the standards of strength, quality, and purity should be maintained. In this law, the penalty was not granted if the food was not up to the standard, but only prohibited adding any other ingredient which would be considered an alternate to the food or hide any damages or cause a health concerns, as well as any addition of substance which was found dirty. As this law was vague it led to several misunderstandings and variation in the interpretation of the law causing court battles. The law included that the manufacturer must list the weight accurately. In addition, the law clarified that the label must not be misleading and the amount and presence of dangerous ingredients such as alcohol, heroin and cocaine should also be listed and the label must not be
Mr. Wiley believed that adulteration which is adding alternative substances to the foods such as chemicals is most harmful. The government policy would be the deciding factor to establish law enforcement. While Wiley had the authority in reference to additives in food, the following year the Referee Board of Consulting Scientific advised the department on safety issues. The bureau for three years had been working on developing informal standards in collaboration with experts externally even after 1906 Act. The impact of Food and Drug Act despite informal standards resulted in courts having different opinions. There were unique laws and specific standards established for foods such as apples, butter, and canned foods.
In 1912, after the resignation of Wiley, the emphasis was on patent medicines. Although the law regarding drugs was clearer than foods in terms of standards, misbranding was still a concern. The Supreme Court ruled in 1911, that false therapeutic claims were not important to warrant clarification. In 1912, an attempt to correct the language of the law was made, however the bureau was not able to prove that falsifying the indication was done with an intention to deceive consumers. However, cases of misbranded products increased which resulted in requirement of correct therapeutic