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President Abraham Lincoln formed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and appointed chemist Charles M. Wetherill to lead the Division of Chemistry, which would become the Bureau of Chemistry in 1901, and the Food and Drug Administration in 1906. -
The Pure Food and Drug Act prevented the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or misbranded foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors. The Federal Meat Inspection Act prohibited the sale of adulterated or misbranded meat and meat products for food and ensured that meat and meat products were slaughtered and processed under sanitary conditions. -
Congress passed the Poultry Products Inspection Act which mandated the inspection of poultry products sold in interstate commerce, in response to the expanding market for ready-to-cook and processed poultry products. -
President John F. Kennedy proclaimed the Consumer Bill of Rights, which stated that consumers have a right to safety, to be informed, to choose, and to be heard. These rights have a direct correlation to the many food safety acts and amendments that preceded it, and that was yet to come. -
FSMA enables the FDA to focus on food safety preventative measures rather than being reactionary when an outbreak occurs. The FDA will have a legislative mandate to require comprehensive, science-based preventive controls across the food supply, including mandatory preventive controls for food facilities, mandatory produce safety standards, and the authority to prevent intentional contamination. -
The New Era of Smarter Food Safety marks a new approach to tackling the continued challenges and opportunities for improving our food system.