Impact and Enforcement
Pure Food Brand Garden Grown Sifted Pease food label, ca. 1906, Records of the Patent and Trademark Office, National Archives and Records Administration
Companies began adding a "Seal of Purity" to their products, advertising to the now-wiser public that their commodities were pure.
The Meat Inspection Act was passed on the same day as the Pure Food and Drug Act. The Meat Inspection Act prohibited the sale of misbranded or adulterated livestock and any products made from them. After the passing of the bill, the USDA took charge of inspecting all livestock planning to be used for products.
U.S. Marshal destroying worm-infested barrels of raisins, November 20, 1909, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.
FDA Inspectors seizing contaminated frozen eggs, National Archives, Records of the Food and Drug Administration.
"Splitting backbones and final inspection -- hogs ready for cooler, Swift & Co., Chicago, U.S.A."
Today
The Pure Food and Drug Act was essentially the first step towards the FDA's creation.
FDA Logo.
"The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 prohibited the sale of misbranded or adulterated food and drugs in interstate commerce and laid a foundation for the nation’s first consumer protection agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)."
~ U.S. Capitol Visitor Center