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Food Regulation History

How the United States came to label its food — from the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act to the Nutrition Facts panel, the FDA, the USDA, and the fight over added sugars.

A Short History of the FDAThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration grew from a single chemist's crusade into the agency that regulates food and drugs. Here's how it began.2 min read The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906The 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act was America's first major food-safety law. Learn what it banned, what drove it, and why it launched federal food regulation.2 min read How 'The Jungle' Changed American Food LawUpton Sinclair's 1906 novel The Jungle exposed the meatpacking industry and helped pass America's first food-safety laws. Here's the story.2 min read A Short History of the USDAThe U.S. Department of Agriculture was founded by Abraham Lincoln in 1862. Learn how the 'People's Department' shaped American food and nutrition.2 min read FDA vs. USDA: Who Regulates What Food?Two federal agencies split responsibility for U.S. food. Learn the surprisingly specific line between what the FDA regulates and what the USDA does.2 min read The History of the Nutrition Facts LabelThe Nutrition Facts label debuted in the 1990s after the NLEA of 1990. Learn how mandatory nutrition labeling came to be and how it evolved.2 min read What Food Labels Looked Like Before 1990Before mandatory nutrition labeling, food packages were inconsistent and often silent on nutrition. Here's what labeling looked like before the 1990 law.2 min read Where Daily Values Come FromThe % Daily Values on labels are built on decades of nutrition science, from RDAs to today's DVs. Here's the history behind those percentages.2 min read The History of the Dietary Guidelines for AmericansSince 1980, the U.S. government has issued dietary advice every five years. Learn how the Dietary Guidelines evolved — including on sugar.2 min read From the Food Pyramid to MyPlateThe USDA's food icons evolved from the 1992 Food Guide Pyramid to MyPyramid to today's MyPlate. Here's the story of how America pictured a balanced diet.2 min read How Chain Restaurants Got Calorie LabelsCalorie counts on chain menus come from a provision of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Learn how menu labeling became law and what it covers.2 min read The Delaney Clause and Food AdditivesThe 1958 Delaney Clause banned any food additive shown to cause cancer. Learn what it did, why it was controversial, and how it shaped food safety.2 min read What Does 'Generally Recognized as Safe' (GRAS) Mean?GRAS is an FDA category for food ingredients considered safe by experts. Learn what it means, where it came from, and why it's debated.2 min read The Fight to Put Added Sugars on the LabelAdding an 'added sugars' line to the nutrition label took years of debate. Learn how the change happened and why the food industry resisted it.2 min read How Other Countries Label FoodFrom the UK's traffic lights to Chile's black warning labels, countries take different approaches to nutrition labeling. Here's a global tour.2 min read The Strange History of SaccharinSaccharin, the first artificial sweetener, was discovered by accident in 1879 — and later nearly banned. Here's its surprising story.2 min read

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