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30 Food Drug Cosm. L.J. 665 (1975)
America's First Food and Drug Laws

handle is hein.journals/foodlj30 and id is 693 raw text is: America's First Food and Drug Laws By WALLACE F. JANSSEN Mr. Janssen Is the Food and Drug Administration Historian. The Article First Appeared in the June 1975 Issue of the FDA Consumer. W HEN WE CELEBRATE the 200th anniversary of Indepen- dence Day, on July 4, 1976, we will be thinking of the past, the present, and the future. We will have a unique opportunity to make an assessment of our accomplishments and institutions, viewed in a perspective of two centuries of tremendous change. This is already beginning to take place across the country, as bicentennial commis- sions and committees delve into local history, refurbish historic sites, prepare exhibits, and plan commemorative programs. Taking a close look at the past, a new experience, for many Americans, can have salutary effects. Every generation needs to learn anew how it got to where it is, and where it seems to be going. When FDA Consumer was first published (as FDA Papers), each issue had in its masthead a small picture of Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, the crusading chemist and physician who led the fight for the first Federal Food and Drug Act, passed in 1906. But long before Wiley's day there were local food and drug laws, dating from colonial times. Today, hardly anyone knows' these laws existed, much less what they contained, or why. Yet, they were the forerunners of our present statutes, and dealt with some familiar problems. In colonial days, and long afterward, consumers, to a large ex- tent, were their own food and drug inspectors. They sniffed meat and fish to make sure it was fresh, and scrutinized flour and fruit for signs of worms. Practically all food was sold in bulk, there being few packaged, processed, or manufactured products 'on the market. Commercially prepared bread was a notable exception.'Although much AME RICA'S FIRST FOOD AND DRUG LAWS PAGE 665

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