U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Skip navigationFDA Home Page | Search FDA Site | FDA A-Z Index | Contact FDA
horizontal rule
This week in FDA history.This weekly feature from 2006, the FDA's centennial year, highlights history and progress in the agency's first 100 years.A sampling of significant events in the Food and Drug Administration's first 100 years.
Picture of "The Jungle" movie poster promoted a 1914 silent motion picture based on the book, starring Sinclair.
Upton Sinclair Archives, Lilly Library (Indiana University,
Bloomington, Ind.)
February 27, 1906:
Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" is published. The book gave graphic descriptions of the deplorable conditions in the meat-packing industry and spurred passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act. This poster promoted a 1914 silent motion picture based on the book, starring Sinclair himself in the role of socialist agitator.

FDA in 2006

The FDA's Food Good Manufacturing Practice regulations (GMPs) dictate requirements for manufacture, handling, and distribution to keep food safe and free from contaminants. The food industry has undergone considerable change in the almost 20 years since the food GMPs were last revised in 1986.
Ready-to-eat foods that need little or no preparation or cooking before consumption now represent a larger portion of the American diet. In November 2005 the FDA reported on its progress toward modernizing the GMP regulations to respond to these changes in the food industry.
rule

FDA Centennial Home Page | FDA History

FDA Home Page | Search FDA Site | FDA A-Z Index | Contact FDA | Privacy | Accessibility

FDA Website Management Staff

link to FDA home page link to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services FDA logo--link to FDA home page